[1.] Next of kin, nearest relative.

[2.] Quoth, said.

[3.] Loon, worthless fellow.

[4.] Eftsoons, at once, immediately; a favorite word with the poet Spenser.

[5.] And listens, etc.  Wordsworth wrote this line and the line following.

[6.] Kirk, church.

[7.] The Sun came up upon the left.  This would be the case if a vessel were going from England, for instance, toward the equator; and each day the sun would be more nearly overhead.

[8.] And now there came both mist and snow.  They were nearing the south pole.

[9.] Clifts, clefts, cracks.

[10.] Ken, discern.

[11.] Swound, swoon, fainting fit.

[12.] Albatross.  The albatross, the largest of sea birds, is found chiefly in the southern hemisphere, and because of its strength in flight is often seen far from land.

[13.] Thorough, through.

[14.] Shroud.  The shrouds are sets of ropes which serve as stays for the masts of a vessel.

[15.] Vespers nine, i.e. nine evenings. Vesper and Hesperus are names given to the evening star, especially to the planet Venus when it appears in the west soon after sunset.  Consult the dictionary for other meanings of the word vesper.

[16.] Whiles, meanwhile.

[17.] The Sun now rose upon the right.  This indicates that the vessel had turned about and was going northward.  The poet says in his notes that she soon entered the Pacific Ocean.

[18.] Nor dim nor red, etc.  The sun now rose clear and bright, and not dim or red, as when seen through mist or fog; and the sailors justified the Mariner, thinking that by his act the fog had been dispersed.  Uprist means uprose.

[19.] The furrow followed free, i.e. the track, or wake, left by the ship appeared to be gladly following her.

[20.] That silent sea.  The vessel had reached the equator.

[21.] Death-fires.  There is a superstition that death is sometimes foreshadowed by death-fires or fetch-lights.  In this instance the fires presaged the death of the sailors.

[22.] The spirit that plagued us so.  This was “the lonesome spirit from the south pole,” who was seeking revenge for the death of the albatross.

[23.] I wist, I knew.

[24.] Agape, with mouths open as though surprised.

[25.] Gramercy (from the French grand-merci), an exclamation formerly used to denote thankfulness with surprise.

[26.] To work us weal, to do us good.

[27.] Straight, straightway, immediately.

[28.] The Sun was flecked with bars.  The frame of the skeleton ship showed clearly against the setting sun as she passed before it.

[29.] Heaven’s Mother, the Virgin Mary.

[30.] Gossameres, gossamers, cobwebs.

[31.] The Nightmare Life-in-Death.  In this strange being the poet personifies the state of a person who lives, as it were, in the shadow of death.  The condition called “nightmare” was formerly believed to be caused by the witch Nightmare, who oppressed people during sleep.