The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

By: Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Narrated by: B.J. Harrison

Length: 32 mins

Publisher's summary

A bird of good omen is murdered. A fickle crew is punished by supernatural, spectral beings. A skeletal ship is sighted moving against the wind and tide. The figure of Death along with a singular, gruesome companion man the fiendish craft. And as they draw closer, it becomes clear that the two play at dice for the soul of the ancient mariner. The result is nothing short of cataclysmic.

Public Domain (P)2009 B.J. Harrison

Fantastic performance

I read this as a child and was forever enriched, this was the icing on the cake, I will be listening to this many times over.

A brilliant reading

This reading enhances one's understanding of the work, a rare gem among readings in that respect. I chose to reread it right now (May, 2020) based on a terrific article in The Atlantic Monthly by James Parker. (Search for "The 1798 Poem That Was Made for 2020.") I quote from Parker's story (one in which he recounts an on-going public domain project to engage multiple people reading the poem, a project in the works prior to the pandemic):

"Six hundred and twenty-six lines of customized Coleridgean English, a strange and wildly flexible hybrid idiom in which the long strains of the King James Bible are looped around a kind of loping, hacked-off folk doggerel, the “Rime” is … What is it? The last epic. The first case history. A Jungian voyage into modernity. A trip. On his way to a wedding, at the very door of the banquet hall, a man is buttonholed by a haggard and compelling stranger. He is detained; he is enthralled. No choice: He must hear this person’s story. And the ancient mariner (for it is he) has no choice either: He is condemned to tell his tale, to recite his rhyme, over and over again."

If it's been as long for you in reading this poem as it was for me, the end of part one will be truly shocking - jaw agape. The effect is stunning.

Timeless, great!

I read this along side my son for his senior year in high school. I enjoyed it so much more than when I was in high school. I understood it way more, and enjoyed discussions about it with my son.

An old favorite.

I often think of this rhyme which was introduced to me so long ago. It visually pleasing as one hears the words. Yet the true fruit of the story lays in its moral lesson. Narrator did an excellent job bringing this to life.

A Classic Somewhat Over-performed

I like the “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” but this narrator’s performance seemed a little over-the-top. He was also very slow. The tack repeats one line at the beginning of the third chapter, and a few insignificant words may have been misread, but otherwise the text was accurately read.

Brilliant!

Been through this several times already, each time picking up new details and meanings. Harrison's reading is as close to perfect as I've heard.

Great Reading of a Fantastic Work of Art

Out of all of Coleridge's works, this is my favorite, and the narrator instills so much emotion into every word of this reading.

classic

It's Coleridge and the reader read with emotion. One of the best readings I have heard.

Oh, Poe is Me!

This picturesque story length poem is even more hauntingly beautiful than the Gustav Dore paintings that have accompanied some editions. It is a classic that was published almost a half century before, but it reminds me much of A Descent into the Maelstrom by Edgar A. Poe.

It is a tale of guilt, remorse, and expiation which certainly make for enduring themes. It contains many of the phrases we hear in other media: such as 'a painted ship on a painted sea,' and 'water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink.' But, it is the word pictures, such as that of departing souls flying past the mariner like an arrow shaft that make the poem so epic.

I read it first in childhood, and I think that it was bigger then... more real... more colossal... enveloping in a way that a movie could have never been. But, in the years since then I've read Poe's tale, and besides that, The Count of Monte Cristo. I think those and the whole growing up process somewhat dampens the effect of this. Yes, its possibly too late to read this in your fifties for the first time.

Just kidding. It's never too late my friend, as long as you are still breathing; as for expiation, the same as with reading good literature.

Nearly Perfect

Well read, quick, and repeatable. I know I will listen to this several times. As a sailor, I love seagoing tales and this is a classic.