The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

I don't know if it's counting the few drafts that have languished un-published (that's fine, any existing have at most a paragraph or two to them) but the main screen told me that I've reached 400 posts. That's really cool! And even with my short cheater posts, I'm still quite confident that I'm left with at LEAST 400 actual pages worth of stuff.

Now if everything here just magicked itself into a single topic publishable book, that'd really be something.

Due back at the library today was my copy of 'Rime'- it included creepy illustrations by (checks note) Ed Young. Creepy drawings for a creepy story. Well, how was I supposed to know that?

Despite my love of Kubla Khan and the interesting history between Coleridge and Wordsworth, I hadn't yet gotten to read this one. I was SUPPOSED to have read it for my romantics class, but well, there's only so much extra studying you can do in the car ride to the exam, and I was unprepared for how long it was. My bad.

Interesting note: not only is this poem the source of all "albatross round my neck" quotes, it's ALSO the source of "water water everywhere and not a drop to drink" HOWEVER the actual line ends "nor any drop to drink".

As you could tell, the poem's about an ancient mariner. And you're probably familiar with the albatross having SOME baring on the tale. Well, here's the other half: when the mariner kills the albatross, the ships good luck charm and the only guide the ship had for sailing out of the misty, uh, antarctic-y ocean area, the ship is stranded in the ocean with supplies dwindling. Eventually they see another ship and think their troubles are over. Nope! It's a ghost ship which carries both Death and Life-In-Death (something like that anyways). Well, Death wins the crew from Life-In-Death, so they all die, but she (Life-In-Death) wins the mariner, and so he's doomed to wander the earth, telling his story to any who'll listen.

I wasn't expecting Pirates of the Caribbean, but that's what it was. Surprise!

Also, late 18th century *spoilers*. But there really is a limit to these things!