DownloadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2024

The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

A classic poem with illustrations and an introduction

Samuel Taylor Coleridge author Marina Warner editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Vintage Publishing

Published:1st May '14

Should be back in stock very soon

This paperback is available in another edition too:

The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner cover

This illustrated edition of The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner presents Coleridge's classic poem, exploring themes of guilt, nature, and redemption through vivid imagery.

With an introduction by Marina Warner and illustrations by Mervyn Peake, The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner is a remarkable edition of Coleridge's iconic poem. Written in the early days of Coleridge's friendship with William Wordsworth, this work first appeared in 1798. It narrates the harrowing tale of a maritime journey gone awry, recounted by the lone survivor, the ancient mariner himself. His fateful decision to kill an albatross, a bird traditionally seen as a good omen, sets off a chain of misfortunes that befall the ship and its crew.

Mervyn Peake's illustrations enhance the poem's gothic atmosphere, vividly capturing the supernatural elements and terrors that permeate the narrative. His artwork complements Coleridge's text, drawing readers into a world filled with both horror and beauty. The combination of haunting imagery and lyrical verse creates a rich experience that resonates with readers, evoking feelings of pity and the possibility of redemption amidst despair.

This entrancing illustrated edition of The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner invites both new readers and longtime admirers to explore the depths of this timeless poem. Its themes of nature, guilt, and the supernatural continue to captivate audiences, making it a significant work in the canon of English literature.

Astonishingly, the poem's spell doesn't seem to weaken over the years... The scenery remains thrillingly hellish, while laced with photographically realistic meteorological effects, and the narrative drive is irresistible * Guardian *
Some of his [Coleridge's] poems are indisputably great, and the greatest is probably 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' * Daily Telegraph *
The greatest sea poem in the language -- Jonathan Raban
The Poem contains many delicate touches of passion, and indeed the passion is every where true to nature, a great number of the stanzas present beautiful images, and are expressed with unusual felicity of language; and the versification, though the metre is itself unfit for long poems, is harmonious and artfully varied, exhibiting the utmost powers of that metre, and every variety of which it is capable -- William Wordsworth

ISBN: 9780099561538

Dimensions: 198mm x 130mm x 7mm

Weight: 66g

64 pages