The Rime of The Ancient Mariner

... Mock-January 2008 TROTAM. (b) The Ancient Mariner says that he has 'strange power of speech' Beginning with a close analysis of the extract below, say how far you think the Mariner's speech is both strange and powerful. The Mariner does seem to have powerful speech in the sense that what he says in the poem can persuade various different people to believe he is trying to convey a certain message through his story. Whether this can be classed as 'strange' depends on how unusual his gift is or whether he tells his story in a particularly unusual way. How his speech is interpreted may also rely on whether it seems his gift is similar to a poet's craft of story telling or a more spiritual/God given talent. In the stanzas given it seems that the Mariner does have the ability to use rhetoric to ensure his argument is persuasive and engaging. For example the repetition

want to read more? →