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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Chapter I · Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Context Illustration Reading 1/43 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
PART THE FIRST.
It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three.
"By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?
"The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."
He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Chapter I · Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/43 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
PART THE FIRST.
/pɑːrt ðə fɜːrst/
Line 2
It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three.
Line 3
"By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?
Line 4
"The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."
Line 5
He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he.

Learner Dictionary

These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.

Bridegroom's noun US /ˈbraɪdɡruːmz/

possessive form of “bridegroom” — a man who has recently been married

From this reading “"The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."”

din noun US /dɪn/

a loud harsh or strident noise

From this reading “"The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."”

glittering adjective US /ˈɡlɪtərɪŋ/

having brief brilliant points or flashes of light

From this reading “"By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?”

holds noun US /hoʊldz/

plural of “hold” — the act of grasping

From this reading “He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he.”

kin noun US /kɪn/

a person having kinship with another or others

From this reading “"The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."”

Mariner noun US /ˈmerənər/

a man who serves as a sailor

From this reading “It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three.”

skinny adjective US /ˈskɪni/

being very thin

From this reading “He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he.”

wherefore adverb US /werˈfɔːr/

an old word meaning “why” or “for that reason”

From this reading “"By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?”

All words in this reading · 54

Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.

Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he.

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

From this reading "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three.

ancientadjectiveUS /ˈeɪn.ʃənt/

Belonging to the very distant past and no longer in existence or deeply revered.

From this reading It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three.

AndconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three.

areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/

the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

beardnounUS /bɪrd/

the hair growing on the lower part of a man's face

From this reading "By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

Bridegroom'snounUS /ˈbraɪdɡruːmz/

possessive form of “bridegroom” — a man who has recently been married

From this reading "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

ByprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading "By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

dinnounUS /dɪn/

a loud harsh or strident noise

From this reading "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

doorsnounUS /dɔːrz/

plural of “door” — a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle

From this reading "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

eyenounUS /aɪ/

the organ of sight

From this reading "By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

feastnounUS /fiːst/

a ceremonial dinner party for many people

From this reading "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

FIRSTadjectiveUS /fɜːrst/

preceding all others in time or space or degree

From this reading PART THE FIRST.

glitteringadjectiveUS /ˈɡlɪtərɪŋ/

having brief brilliant points or flashes of light

From this reading "By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

greyadjectiveUS /ɡreɪ/

of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black

From this reading "By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

guestsnounUS /ɡests/

plural of “guest” — a visitor to whom hospitality is extended

From this reading "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

handnounUS /hænd/

the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb

From this reading He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three.

hearverbUS /hiːr/

perceive (sound) via the auditory sense

From this reading "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he.

holdsnounUS /hoʊldz/

plural of “hold” — the act of grasping

From this reading He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three.

kinnounUS /kɪn/

a person having kinship with another or others

From this reading "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

longadjectiveUS /lɔːŋ/

primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified

From this reading "By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

MarinernounUS /ˈmerənər/

a man who serves as a sailor

From this reading It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three.

May'st

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading "By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

merryadjectiveUS /ˈmeri/

full of or showing high-spirited merriment

From this reading "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

metverbUS /met/

inflected form of “meet” — come together

From this reading "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

nextadjectiveUS /nekst/

immediately following in time or order

From this reading "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

NowadverbUS /naʊ/

in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events

From this reading "By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three.

openedadjectiveUS /ˈoʊpənd/

used of mouth or eyes

From this reading "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

PARTnounUS /pɑːrt/

something determined in relation to something that includes it

From this reading PART THE FIRST.

quoth

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he.

setverbUS /set/

put into a certain place or abstract location

From this reading "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

shipverbUS /ʃɪp/

transport commercially

From this reading He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he.

skinnyadjectiveUS /ˈskɪni/

being very thin

From this reading He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he.

stopp'st

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

stoppeth

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading PART THE FIRST.

ThereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he.

thoupronounUS /ðaʊ/

an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person

From this reading "By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

threenounUS /θriː/

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one

From this reading It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three.

thydeterminerUS /ðaɪ/

an old word for “your”, speaking to one person

From this reading "By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he.

whereforeadverbUS /werˈfɔːr/

an old word meaning “why” or “for that reason”

From this reading "By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

wideadjectiveUS /waɪd/

having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other

From this reading "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he.

Chapter 1 of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge holds 217 sentences, grouped into 44 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.

What does chapter 1 of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner contain?

Chapter 1 holds 217 sentences of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 1 of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 217 sentences, grouped into 44 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.

How do I study chapter 1 of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?

Work through the 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 44 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.

Can chapter 1 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 can be played aloud in United States English.

Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.

Questions about reading The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Common questions about reading The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?

Yes. All 217 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #151 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #151, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Rime of the Ancient Mariner take to read?

About 18 minutes of reading across 44 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Rime of the Ancient Mariner section by section

How to work through The Rime of the Ancient Mariner section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

First
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Ancient
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Mariner
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Stoppeth
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.