The Hermit Asks The Mariner What Manner Of Man Art Thou?
570 Words3 Pages
"The Hermit asks the Mariner, what manner of man art thou?" Do you think the poem as a whole offers an answer to this question?
Throughout the poem the Mariner is portrayed in a variety of different ways and our perception of the character is constantly changing. Sometimes we simply see him as a representation of every man, while at other points he appears to be a prophet and becomes much more significant. Firstly the Mariner is described as a supernatural being. When he first meets the Mariner, the Wedding Guest says "By thy long beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?". The image of his glittering eye gives a supernatural and mysterious element to his appearance. The fact that his beard is "long" and he is "an ancient Mariner" also enables us to determine the age of the mariner. Further into Part 1 it "he holds him with his skinny hand" and the Wedding Guest "cannot choose but hear" which makes him seem almost ghostly and as if he has magic powers. In part 7 the Mariner also admits to having some kind of strange powers because "at night [he] passes like night from land to land; [he] has strange power of speech".…show more content… " With my crossbow, I shot the albatross" gives the impression that the Mariner didn't put much thought into killing the bird which is reminicent of the idea that humans are born with evil within them and often act upon it without thought. In representing every man, like the story in the bible, the Mariner, representing every man, kills Jesus, the albatross, who was sent to save us all. "'Is it he' quoth one, 'is this the man?by him who died on cross, with his cruel bow he layed full low the harmless