The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
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Reducing difficulty (but only slightly). You will still need
impeccable balance and twinkle toes to keep dry. .
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Oct 21,1772 – July 25, 1834
Coleridge was an English poet, critic and philosopher. He was one
of the founders of the English Romantic Movement and one of the
Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poem “The Rime of the
Ancient Mariner”.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner relates the supernatural
events experienced by a mariner on a long sea voyage. The mariner
stops a man who is on the way to a wedding ceremony, and begins to
recite his story. The wedding guest's reaction turns from
bemusement and impatience to fascination as the mariner's story
progresses.
The mariner's tale begins with his ship leaving harbour; Despite
initial good fortune, the ship is driven off course by a storm and,
driven south, eventually reaches Antarctica. An albatross,
traditionally a good omen, appears and leads them out of the
threatening land of ice; even as the albatross is praised by the
ship's crew, however, the mariner shoots it with a crossbow, for
reasons unknown (with my cross-bow I shot the albatross).
The other sailors are angry with the Mariner and blame him for the
change in weather that subsequently occurs as he killed the bird
that brought the wind (Ah, wretch, said they, the bird to slay
that made the breeze to blow). This crime also arouses the
wrath of supernatural spirits who then pursue the ship "from the
land of mist and snow"; the south wind which had initially led
them from the land of ice now sends the ship into uncharted waters,
where it is becalmed. When the weather becomes misty, the sailors
change their minds and hail the Mariner for killing the bird that
brought the fog ('Twas right, said they, such birds to slay that
bring the fog and mist).
Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.
Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.
However, the sailors change their minds again and blame the
Mariner for the torment of their thirst, and hang the albatross
around the mariner's neck as a sign of his guilt. Eventually, in an
eerie passage, the ship encounters a ghostly vessel. Onboard are
DEATH (a skeleton) and the "Night-Mare" LIFE-IN-DEATH (a pale,
deathly-fair woman), who are playing dice for the souls of the
crew. With a roll of the dice, Death wins the lives of the crew
members and Life-in-death the life of the mariner, a prize she
considers more valuable. Her name is a clue as to the mariner's
fate; he will endure a fate worse than death as punishment for his
killing of the albatross. One by one all two hundred crew members
die, but the Mariner lives on, seeing for seven days and nights the
curse in the eyes of the crew's corpses, whose last expressions
remain upon their faces. Eventually, the Mariner's curse is lifted
when he sees sea creatures swimming in the water. Despite his
cursing them as "slimy things" earlier in the poem, he suddenly
sees their true beauty and blesses them (a spring of love gush'd
from my heart and I bless'd them unaware); suddenly, as he
manages to pray, the albatross falls from his neck and his guilt is
partially expiated. The bodies of the crew, possessed by good
spirits, rise again and steer the ship back home, where it sinks in
a whirlpool, leaving only the Mariner behind. As penance for his
deed, the Mariner is forced to wander the earth and tell his story,
and teach a lesson to those he meets:
Lake Massabesic
Massabesic Lake is an indian name meaning “place of much water” or
“near the great brook”. It covers about 2,900 acres within the city
of Manchester and the town of Auburn. Because it provides drinking
water for more than 125,000 people in the regional Manchester area,
swimming and water activities are not allowed.
Water, water, everywhere
Nor any drop to drink.
Whenever I read "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" I think of my
childhood years and growing up near the Massabesic Lake watershed.
I never understood why boats full of gas and oil were allowed but I
couldn’t play/swim/drink the water.
The Cache
The cache is a WELL HIDDEN 3.7 cup Lock-n-Lock container located
at the above coordinates along the banks of Massabesic Lake.
**BEWARE** Depending on the season and water level, the cache
container may be wet..
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)