Samuel Taylor Coleridge's the Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Modern Critical Interpretations) [Hardcover]

Harold Bloom (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2000 | Series: Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is the most famous of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's daemonic poems. An eerily compelling ballad with powerful metaphysical overtones, the Mariner's hypnotic tale continues to fascinate readers and critics.

The title, Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, part of Chelsea House Publishers’ Modern Critical Interpretations series, presents the most important 20th-century criticism on Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner through extracts of critical essays by well-known literary critics. This collection of criticism also features a short biography on Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a chronology of the author’s life, and an introductory essay written by Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Yale University.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"It is an ancient Mariner, and he stoppeth one of thee...." Although these ominous lines perennially instill fear of final exams and term papers in the minds of high school students and Romantic English majors, they're not often remembered by adults. Mason's reading of Coleridge's 1796 epic poem is at once hypnotic and stirring. The Academy Award-nominated actor reads the chilling tale involving clashes with sea monsters, a boat swarming with zombies and a dice game with Death in an authoritative English accent. Like the ocean surrounding the Mariner's ship, his voice ebbs and flows with the imaginative poem's various heights. He quickly rattles off, "water, water, every where, and all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink" but gently whispers "And I had done an hellish thing, and it would work `em woe: For all averred, I had killed the bird that made the breeze to blow." Coleridge (1772-1834), uses words to make the fantastical believable, and here, Mason brings those words vividly to life. A bonus track features Mason's animated reading of The Hunting of the Snark, an eight-canto poem by Lewis Carroll.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4 Up-- One of the classic poems of the romantic period of English literature has been illustrated with charcoal drawings and full-color, full-page pastel seascapes by Young. Coleridge's masterpiece has much to recommend it to a modern audience because of its central theme of the importance of ``all things both great and small;'' also, the mysterious supernatural events, the skeleton ship, and the zombie crew are occult touches that will appeal to many young readers. However, Coleridge's 18th-century rhymes and references make difficult reading and, although the marginal asides are helpful, much of the religious structure of the poem and many of the archaic words remain obscure. Although they may admire Young's dramatic pictures and will certainly enjoy the rich format of the book, few 20th-century readers will persevere unaided through all seven parts of this work of penitence. Its primary audience is adults who wish to preserve and use a recognized piece of English literature by reading it aloud to a new generation of young people. --Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Chelsea House Publications (January 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877547343
• ISBN-13: 978-0877547341
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #370,023 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite!, August 17, 2002

By 

Joseph H Pierre "Joe Pierre" (Salem, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Hardcover)

This small volume is a treasure. In hardcover, the pages are silver, the dark blue typography is a beautiful old-style Roman, perhaps Garamond or Times, good-sized and leaded out for easy readability. And the illustrations are unsurpassed.

First, the illustrator: Gustave Dore was born in 1832, sixty years after the birth of Coleridge. He died in 1883. Coleridge preceded him in death by 49 years. Coleridge was born in 1772 and died in 1834. Dore was born in Strasbourg, and was a renowned illustrator who was doing lithographs at the age of thirteen.

The fact that Dore was a near contemporary of Coleridge is important because we can be assured that the characters' costumes in his illustrations reflect the actual dress of the time Coleridge was describing. The ships also are correctly drawn and beautifully detailed.

To say that his illustrations complement this classic epic poem is an understatement.

As to the poet, some wag said once of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, that "a half-great poet had a wholly great day." I have also heard that Coleridge is supposed to have written his epic in one sitting, in a great burst of inspiration. I can't vouch for that, but it is truly a masterpiece--of that there can be no doubt.

I recall trying to memorize it when I was in high school, about sixty years ago. I loved it then, and I still do now.

For the price, this book is an absolute steal. No library is complete without this poem, and of all the renditions I've seen of it, this is by far the most beautiful.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gustave Dore's Engravings offer Mesmerizing Images, January 28, 2004

By 

Michael Wischmeyer (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Paperback)

I read and memorized portions of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner as a school boy. I thoroughly enjoyed my first reading and I still like it today. I only wish I had encountered these Dore illustrations years ago.

This oversized edition by Dover Publications reproduces all 42 Dore engravings in their original size. Gustave Dore's illustrations are absolutely mesmerizing. I enjoy slowly turning the pages and examining the phenomenal detail in these famous Dore engravings.

Every aspect of this edition is great. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is an imaginative, haunting, and captivating narrative poem that has no parallel in the English language. The engravings by Gustave Dore - the open and endless sea, the vast icy reaches of Antarctica, the calm tropical sea with monsters swirling about, and the dead seamen sprawled on the ship's deck all translate the evocative words of Coleridge into unforgettable images. And the introduction by Millicent Rose is excellent.

Buy a copy. You won't be disappointed.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Bargain, April 11, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Paperback)

This is an incredible book, a collaboration, really, featuring reproductions of the wood engravings that were created by Gustave Dore in 1875, inspired by this epic poem by Samuel Coleridge. (the editorial reviews are confusing, because they describe books by different artists) There are 42 magnificent illustrations, on 9 x 12 pages no less, for just six bucks and change. You won't find a better bargain here.