09/12/2009

HOMEWORKS 

I.Fattori

"THE ANCIENT MARINER"

PART 1

 CONSIDER HOW THE FIGURE OF THE MARINER IS DESCRIBERD.

1 What are his traits? Is his portrait very detailed?

No, it isn't. The poet only say that he is an ancient mariner, with a long grey beard and a glittering eye (line 3)and he is pale and slim (his skinny hand, line 9).

2 Does the old man strike you as a real, true-to-life figure?

No, he doesn't. He strikes  me for mystery that is all around his figure.

EXAMINE THE LANDSCAPES,SEASCAPES AND ELEMENTS OF NATURE PRESENT IN THE TEXT  AND THE KIND OF LANGUAGE USED IN THEIR DESCRIPTION.

1 Note down the type and features of the scapes passed through during the journey.

- When the ship came out of the harbour, it drop below the church, below the hill, below the light-house top and the Sun rise out of the sea.

-   And now the storm-blast came, and he
Was tyrannous and strong:
He struck with his o'ertaking wings,
And chased us south along.

With sloping masts and dipping prow,

As who pursued with yell and blow

Still treads the shadow of his foe,

And forward bends his head,

The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast,

And southward aye we fled.

And now there come both mist and snow,

And it grew wondrous cold:

And ice, mast-high, came floating by,

As green as emerald.

And through the drifts the snowy clifts

Did send a dismal sheen:

Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken-

The ice was all between.

The ice was here, the ice was there,

The ice was all around :

It cracked and growled, and roared and howled,

Like noises in a swound!

-  At lenght did cross an Albatross,

Thorough the fog it came;
As if it had been a Christian soul,

We hailed it in God's name.

It hate the food in ne'er had eat,

And round and round it flew.

The ice did split with a thunder-fit;

The heilmsman steered us through!

And a good south wind sprung up behind;

The Albatross did follow,

And every day, for food or play,

Came to the mariners' hollo!

In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud,

It perched for vespers nine;
Whiles all the night, through the fog-smoke white,

Glimmered the white moon-shine.»

 2 Decide which of the natural elements are personified.

• The ship, (As who pursued with yell and blow,Still treads the shadow of his foe,And forward bends his head)
• The ice, (It cracked and growled, and roared and howled,Like noises in a swound!)
• The Albatross, (As if it had been a Christian soul)

3 On the basis of your answers, would you say that nature is presented in a realistic or symbolic way, or both?

Nature is presented both in a realistic and symbolic way.

EXAMIN THE SUPERNATURAL ASPECT OF THE BALLAD

1 Supernatural Characters and events stand in contrast with realistic events and people.

Where in your view is the contrast between reality and the supernatural most striking?

Give reasons.

In my view the contrast between reality and supernatural is most striking during the storm, because everything is described in an terrifying way for exciting the sympathy of the reader.

PART 4

CONSIDER THE CHARACTER OF THE ANCIENT MARINER IN PART 4

1What traits are emphasized?

His physical aspect is emphasized. (lines 1-6)

2The mood of the mariner at the beginning of Part 4 is very different from his mood at he end. In what way?

The mood of the mariner at the beginning is sad pained and afflicted but in the end he is fascinated from the creatures that he can see.

3The mood of the mariner is not described directly; it is reflected in what surrounds tha mariner. Illustrate whith words and phrases from part 4.

• I looked upon the rotting sea,

And drew my eyes away;

I looked upon the rotting deck

And there the dead men lay.

• But where the ship's huge shadow lay,

The charmed water burnt alway

A still and awful red.

• Within the shadow of the ship,

I watched their rich attire:

Blue glossy green, and velvet black,

They coiled and swam; and every track

Was a flash of golden fire.

O happy living things! no tongue

Their beauty might declare:

A spring of love gushed from my heart,

And I blessed them unaware:

Sure my kind saint took pity on me,

And I blessed them unaware.