The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Study Guide

1. According to Burnet's epigraph, what does man strive but fail to classify?

• Works of literature.
• Woman's beauty.
• Spiritual beings.
• Animals and plants.

2. According to Burnet's epigraph, why must man attempt to understand the infinite?

• To prove to himself that he exists.
• To end his curse of compulsive storytelling.
• To maintain a sense of balance between the ordinary and sublime.
• To earn a place in heaven.

3. Where does the poem's initial encounter occur?

• In the open air.
• Inside a chapel.
• At sea.
• At a wedding reception.

4. Which of the following does NOT describe the Ancient Mariner?

• Unnaturally old.
• Skinny.
• With a crazed look in his eye.
• Sprightly.

5. The Wedding Guest is on his way to (do) what?

• Divorce proceedings.
• A wedding ceremony.
• Propose to his beloved.
• A wedding reception.

6. Why does the Ancient Mariner stop the Wedding Guest and not one of his companions?

• The Wedding Guest asks the Ancient Mariner for directions.
• His instinct tells him whom to stop.
• The Wedding Guest is the most distracted and therefore the easiest to reel in.
• He chooses his audience at random.

7. Why does the Wedding Guest eventually sit down to hear the Ancient Mariner's tale?

• He pities the Ancient Mariner.
• He feels compelled to do so.
• He is not expected at the wedding anyway.
• He is tickled by the Ancient Mariner's antics.

8. The ship sailed calmly and contently until:

• An albatross suddenly landed on the prow.
• The sun began to set.
• A ghost ship appeared on the horizon.
• It crossed the equator.

9. Other than "rhyme," what is the meaning of the word "rime?"

• An original model of a printing press.
• The peel of a fruit or vegetable.
• Limbo.
• An ice formation.

10. Which of the following adjectives does NOT describe the strange world into which the sailors are blown?

• Silent.
• Impenetrable.
• Desolate.
• Icy.