Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Authorial Methods Flashcards
frame narrative
a story ‘outside’ a story, which forms a beginning and an end - often in order to make gothic or supernatural stories more believable
allegory
a story with a hidden meaning, most often a moral or political one
subjective account
an account based on personal feelings, experience and opinions
unreliable narrator
a story-teller whose credibility has been seriously compromised (e.g. because they are untrustworthy)
symbol: albatross
the albatross can be seen as a symbol of Christ, of nature, or the mariner’s forgiveness
symbol: eyes
the eyes can represent the power of storytelling, the judgement of others, or the willingness (or not) to see the truth
symbol: moon and sun
the sun and moon could represent nature, God and judgement, or the pagan gods of the natural pre-Christian world
trope
a recurring theme or idea in a text (like semantic field)
cyclical structure
a text whose ending refers to the beginning of the story
penance
a punishment inflicted on oneself to show repentance for wrong-doing
absolution
formal release from guilt and punishment, usually given by a priest
sublime
producing an overwhelming sense of awe and extreme emotion
feverish
displaying extreme excitement or energy
hyperbolic
deliberately exaggurated
primal
relating to an early stage in evolutionary development
ineffable
too great or extreme to be expressed with words
gothic
(genre) displaying characteristics of gothic writing:
extreme weather, extreme emotions, foreshadowing, supernatural elements, darkness, sin and punishment
cautionary
serving as a warn to others
hallucinatory
resembling a hallucination or vision of something that is not real
demonical
characteristic of a demon or evil spirit
hellish
of or like hell
