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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. Whose are the two voices the Mariner hears while unconscious?

2. What does the Mariner hear after the spirits make their form?

3. Who is the Mariner eager to see on the rescue boat?

4. Who steers the Ship after the dead men rise?

5. What does the Mariner do, without realizing it, after watching the objects in the moonlight?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. What two things is the Mariner thankful for at the beginning of Part V, and to whom are these things attributed?

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

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

5. How does the Mariner's attitude toward his surroundings in Part IV change? What does this prompt?

6. Why does the Guest interrupt the Mariner in Part V? How does the Mariner respond?

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

8. Describe the death of the crew.

9. What two body parts are most strongly emphasized in Part III? How?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explicate the characters of Death and Life-in-Death. What kind of characters are they? How do they change the story? How do their descriptions relate to their actions? Although they only appear in Part III of the poem, they are nonetheless important throughout. Be sure to demonstrate how this is so.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the character of the Hermit. What role does he play? How is he unique from the other characters in the story? What aspects of human nature does he signify? Does he have any importance beyond the natural world?

Essay Topic 3

Present a coherent analysis of the character of Wedding-Guest. Important things to consider include:

1) His unwillingness to listen but compulsion to do so;

2) His fearful interruptions;

3) His actions at the end of the story (not attending the wedding);

4) Waking up the following morning "sadder and wiser."

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 856 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample