Short Answer Questions (with Solutions) Chapter 11 - The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

                                  The Rime of Ancient Mariner                      Short Answer Type Question

1. How was the weather when the ship started to sail?

Ans. The weather was calm and good. The sky was clear and it was sunny when the ship left the harbor. The sailors were in a happy mood and were greeted by their friends and relatives. 

2. Why did the mariner stop the wedding guest?

Ans. The mariner stopped the wedding guest because he wanted to share his woeful story with the wedding guest. He was overpowered by the feelings of guilt and remorse and telling his tale to the people around gave him solace. 

3. Describe the character of the sailors.

Ans. The sailors were fickle-minded people who never took a stand. They changed their minds with the change in the situation. They at times supported the mariner for killing the albatross and then they condemned him.

4. The very deep did rot: O Christ !' Why is the speaker thinking of Christ here?

Ans. The speaker is invoking Christ here because he is full of agony and repentance for killing the Albatross. He wants Christ to help him save his soul. The Mariner's conscience is not able to rid him of his sins.

5. Why did the sailors give the Ancient Mariner evil looks?

Ans. The sailors gave evil looks to the ancient Mariner because he had killed the innocent Albatross for no fault of its. The Mariners considered the Albatross to be a Christian soul which had come to help them. But the ancient Mariner killed the Albatross and the sailors thought that their misery was a result of the Mariner's sin.

6. What hellish thing had the Mariner done and why?

Ans. The Mariner had killed an innocent bird which had brought them good luck. The arrival of the bird had coincided with the blowing of the south wind, thus, helping all the sailors escape from the land of mist and snow.

7. Why did the Albatross follow the ship?

Ans. The Albatross followed the ship because the sailors fed it with the eatables they had. Moreover the sailors treated the Albatross as a bird of good omen who guided the ship out of the land of mist and snow. The sailors were very fond of the bird and they played with it.

8. What was the effect of the storm on the ship?

Ans. The storm was very fierce and pushed the ship in the southern direction. Then the ship entered a very cold region. The ship couldn't move till the ice melted. There was fog and mist around their ship. There was ice all around an the sailors could not steer the ship.

9. What were the blessings the Albatross brought with it ?

Ans. The Albatross was considered preferably a bird of good omen and a spirit of Christ which had come to help them. When the Albatross appeared the ship was surrounded by massive icebergs, but soon the good South Wind blew, the ice cracked and they were able to move out.

10. What happened when the sailor's ship got stuck at one place?

Ans. When the ship got stuck in the sea it was very hot and there was no breeze and no drinking water. The mariners were thirsty and there was no respite for them. They had a lot of difficulty in breathing. The sea was full of stench and there was not a drop of water to moisten their parched tongues.      

              Long Answer Type (Value-based) Questions

1. Write about the various themes that run through the poem.

Ans. Respect and appreciate all of god's creations, no matter how great or small: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'' by Samuel Taylor Coleridge demonstrates the importance of God's creations and the appreciations we should have for them, no matter how small or great. The albatross is known as a symbol of good luck to sailors and brings favourable weather conditions to sailors. On the mariner's voyage he shoots the Albatross for a reason never explained, which brings bad luck to the crew's voyage
Forgiveness: Another important theme which runs through the poem is receiving forgiveness from others, as well as forgiving ourselves for our sins. As the mariner suffers for his sins through the curses of nature, he is given time to reflect on his mistakes and does penance for his harsh actions towards the Albatross.
Feeling guilt itself leads us to repentance: Another main theme is the fact that guilt can force one into repentance. By the end of the poem, the mariner feels an overwhelming desire to tell people his story and express the guilt he feels for killing the Albatross.
Power of nature: Coleridge has shown that nature is all powerful and man is nothing as compared to nature. The mariners didn't have any control over their ship. It was nature which controlled their ship whether in the form of a storm, ice or harsh sun. In today's scenario it is all the more important to understand that if man will keep on destroying nature, nature will also take its revenge upon man.
Sin and regeneration: If we commit a sin we have to suffer because of it and the suffering ultimately becomes very close to nature and realizes that man is not the master of the earth.

2. No sinful action can ever go without its consequences. What consequences does the Ancient Mariner have to face as a result of his sinful actions?
Ans. The ancient Mariner killed the Albatross without any reason. It was a wretched thing done by the Mariner to kill the bird which was responsible for the good south wind. God, who is the creator of life, only can destroy life. Killing the bird intentionally for fun is an unpardonably sin. The ancient Mariner was a sinner so he rightly deserved the punishment fr his sin because the repentance of a sin only leads to regeneration. But the fellow sailors were also guilty because they too held the bird responsible for the fog and the mist.

3. What impression do you form of the sailors in the poem?
Ans. The fellow sailors of the Ancient Mariner are fickle-minded. They cannot be trusted and are cowards. When the Ancient Mariner kills the bird, Albatross, they condemn the killing of the bird of good omen. They are afraid that some misery will befall them. But, when nothing of the sort happens, they change their mind. They now hold the Albatross responsible for the fog and the mist and justify its killing so they put the dead Albatross around the Mariner's neck as a mark of his sin. The Mariner goes insane after this incident.