The Rime of Th Ancient Mariner

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.

I have to disagree with the bad rap this poem often gets. Sure, Coleridge's 4-3-4-3 meter is simple and easily imitable, but that does not change the fact that he used the meter masterfully, that his verse is beautiful and his imagery splendid (even without the woodcuts). The story is fairly simple, though its effect is somewhat chilling. Yes, I've even heard the Mariner compared to Popeye with a dead bird around his neck. But all joking aside, this is a beautiful poem.On the surface, this may just seem to be a simple poem by an English Romantic. But there is so much more. There is a lesson to be learned, one of respect for God's creatures and for all of creation. This is certainly a Romantic point of view, and Coleridge puts it forth very nicely in this poem.This is a great beginning poem for novices of poetry, for beginners and for people who dislike poetry if it doesn't rhyme and have a definite rhythm. This is definitely Coleridge's best poem, one that everyone should be familiar with. This version with the woodcuts makes for a very attractive package--the illustrations add nicely to the poems overall effect.

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.

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.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is the single greatest piece of literature I have ever read. The morals it teaches are deeper than those of Aesop's fables and as far reaching as the Genesis account of the Bible. The language though somewhat archaic is magical and extremely lyrical. Poetry is meant to be heard rather than read and when one hears the words of this poem one cannot help but be moved and entirely engrossed by the pure essence of the poem. This poem exhibits many elements of horror and the supernatural and can be enjoyed along these lines as well. It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three. "By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?As one begins to read or listen to "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", one cannot help but become the wedding-guest. It is almost as though the reader or listener of the poem has been stopped by the ancient one's glittering eye. When the wedding guest replies: "Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!"it is as if we are the one's making this reply, thus becoming the wedding guest and as such, we now become a part of the poem ourself and the poem becomes a part of us. We feel the ancient mariner's struggle as did the wedding guest and actually come away from the experience a sadder and a wiser person. The revelation of self and ones shortcomings is that which makes us sadder and the fact that we most likely had never contemplated such things prior to our encounter with this wizened sailor of yore makes us much wiser. This particular edition has been illustrated by 42 wood engravings of Gustave Dore. The lyrical quality of this masterpiece is only enhanced by the intricate artistry of Gustave Dore. Only a literary masterpiece of this caliber deserves such exquisite illustration. Truly, this is a volume to be treasured for a lifetime.