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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the Mariner describe time after the object hangs around his neck?

2. Who sends the "gentle sleep from Heaven"?

3. What forces are steering the Ship while the Mariner is unconscious?

4. What does the Mariner try to do, but cannot?

5. What "thousand thousand" things live on?

Short Essay Questions

1. What natural force is described as "roaring" after the Mariner wakes from the Heavenly sleep? What is unusual about it?

2. What does the Mariner mean when he says, "O let me be awake, my God! / Or let me sleep alway," in the middle of Part VI?

3. After regaining consciousness from fainting, what does the Mariner again feel the effects of? What are those effects?

4. Describe the dice game between Death and Life-in-Death.

5. What are the sounds the Mariner hears towards the end of Part VI, and how are they received by him?

6. How is Life-in-Death described? What is the significance of Life-in-Death's description?

7. How does Coleridge use colors in Part IV of the poem? What are some of the colors he uses?

8. At the beginning of Part IV, what is the Mariner's relationship to prayer?

9. What is the Mariner's initial reaction to his surroundings in Part IV? Why is this significant?

10. What are some of the descriptions of the ship carrying Death and Life-in-Death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay on the role of the natural world in the poem. Analyze how it is used by characters and forces, why it is significant, in what ways it is important to the advancement of the story, how it is abused, and in what ways it is essential to the story.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the mounting of despair in the first half of the poem. What sort of events prompt feelings of despair? What influence upon despair is had by the supernatural? How much of the despair experience is strictly natural? Be sure to mention the inability to speak, and particularly to pray.

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the poem, eyes are prominently mentioned. Analyze the significance of their mentions, how they influence the story, and any deeper significance they might have. Feel free to include your personal opinions on the importance of eyes.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 795 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample