Scan barcode
maemay's review against another edition
5.0
Superb! All the different readers, artists, and others who contributed notes for the sidebars have together produced an amazing experience so relevant to us today. Highly recommended! https://www.ancientmarinerbigread.com/readings
kalventure's review against another edition
4.0
“Ah! well a-day! what evil looksI cannot believe that it took me so long to read this poem! The albatross is a symbol that is seen across literature, and it was about time that I read it
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung.”
The prose and meter of this poem is magnificent, reminding me a bit of [b:Annabel Lee|178911|Annabel Lee|Edgar Allan Poe|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1172464693s/178911.jpg|1632052] by Edgar Allan Poe. Told in seven parts, the lines flow from the tongue and beg to be read aloud -- so I read them to my cat. I think that she enjoyed it.
pissmin's review against another edition
Day after day, day after day,/ We stuck, nor breath nor motion;/ As idle as a painted ship/ Upon a painted ocean.
(adorable)
(adorable)
sharon4d046's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful edition but I am not sure about the shiny paper on which it is printed. Just re-read because of recent re-read of Frankenstein. A remarkable piece of poetry, dramatic, accessible, atmospheric and thought provoking.
topgold's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoy fictional characters renowned for their encounters with sea monsters. And I especially enjoy the gentle and benign albatross.
abomine's review against another edition
5.0
Perfect Musical Pairing: The Islander by Nightwish
-----------------
The Romantic theme of "Nature is good, and humans need to stop fucking it up" is all well and good, but what really sell this poem are the eerie atmosphere and fantastic imagery. This is the kind of stuff that stays with you: Death's ship silhouetted against the blood-red sunset, the immense groaning emerald-green icebergs, the curse of the dead sailors, the ghostly lights atop the ship's masts, the greasy black ocean writhing with bio-luminescent sea monsters. Paired with a rhyme scheme and beautiful rhythm that imitates the roll and pitch of the sea itself, it's nothing short of a masterpiece.
If the edition you're reading has illustrations, make sure they're by Gustave Dore. For that matter, if any book you're reading has an edition available with Gustave Dore illustrations, always get the one with the Gustave Dore illustrations. Always.
Also, if you feel like listening to this rather than reading it, check out the reading by Orson Welles or the one by Ian McKellen. The latter is basically like Gandalf reading you a spooky kickass bedtime story. How awesome is that?
-----------------
The Romantic theme of "Nature is good, and humans need to stop fucking it up" is all well and good, but what really sell this poem are the eerie atmosphere and fantastic imagery. This is the kind of stuff that stays with you: Death's ship silhouetted against the blood-red sunset, the immense groaning emerald-green icebergs, the curse of the dead sailors, the ghostly lights atop the ship's masts, the greasy black ocean writhing with bio-luminescent sea monsters. Paired with a rhyme scheme and beautiful rhythm that imitates the roll and pitch of the sea itself, it's nothing short of a masterpiece.
If the edition you're reading has illustrations, make sure they're by Gustave Dore. For that matter, if any book you're reading has an edition available with Gustave Dore illustrations, always get the one with the Gustave Dore illustrations. Always.
Also, if you feel like listening to this rather than reading it, check out the reading by Orson Welles or the one by Ian McKellen. The latter is basically like Gandalf reading you a spooky kickass bedtime story. How awesome is that?