The many men, so beautiful! And they all dead did lie: And a thousand thousand slimy things Lived on; and so did I.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The beautiful men are dead while slimy creatures and the speaker survive.
- In plain terms
- Dead crew contrast with living slimy sea creatures.
- What can you take from it?
- Survival can feel unnatural or cursed.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why do they survive?
- What is the curse?
Another view
The term slimy might be subjective.
More from Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Alone, alone, all, all alone, Alone on a wide wide sea! And never a saint took pity on My soul in agony.
Permalink to quote #56 An orphan's curse would drag to Hell A spirit from on high; But oh! more horrible than that Is a curse in a dead man's eye! Seven days, seven nights, I saw tha…
Permalink to quote #58 I fear thee, ancient Mariner! I fear thy skinny hand! And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand.
Permalink to quote #55
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