English Literature / Unit 12 ENL 1133 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Mariner: Albatross and Ballad Form
Captions available
The idea
The Mariner uses the old ballad stanza and archaic diction; an eighteen seventeen version added a prose gloss. The albatross is hung around his neck "instead of the cross." Its moral: "He prayeth best, who loveth best / All things both great and small."
In practice
Ballad stanza, the bird as burden.
Where people slip
The killing is unexplained; the penance is not.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Unlocks
- Nothing yet depends on this.
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