What do we know of his companions? Why were they punished? INTERPRETATION.--What idea or truth does the author bring out in the poem? Show how the Mariner in his development illustrates it. METHOD OF NARRATION.--Who begins the narrative? Who else soon takes it up? What part does each tell? Does the Mariner tell anything beyond what he himself saw or heard? Compare this narrative with some other with respect to the rapidity with which the story moves. Note some places where the movement is most rapid, and try to discover how the poet makes it so. FORM.--Why do you suppose this poem is divided into seven parts? Do the stanzas correspond to thought divisions as they do in _The Lady of the Lake_? What is a ballad? Select three stanzas in different parts of the poem and mark the scansion. Compare these to see whether they are alike, and, if not, what variations there are. Compare this poem with some other ballad, for example, "Alice Brand" (_The Lady of the Lake_, Canto IV), to find what is the normal ballad stanza. STYLE.--Did Coleridge use language of a time other than his own? Select several words that he would not have used in writing a letter. Do they seem appropriate here? Why? Are the sentences simple or involved? Are the words common or unusual? Are the most effective words concrete or abstract? figurative or literal? Find examples of alliteration, of onomatopœia, of all the figures of speech that you can find here. Do the figures of speech make the idea clearer? more beautiful? more impressive? Make a list of five or six of the most effective scenes and decide whether they are effective because of their beauty, their pathos, their horror, or for some other reason. THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE AUTHOR.--What do we know of Coleridge's childhood? his school days? his college experiences? his struggles to get on in the world? his radical opinions? his acquaintance with Wordsworth? with Southey? his success as a poet? his other literary work? his domestic life? his decline? Tell how this poem came to be written. What was Wordsworth's part? In what volume was it first published? What epoch in the history of poetry does this volume mark? What were the strong features in Coleridge's character? What was lacking? What characteristics of the man may you infer from this poem? OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF THE IDYLLS OF THE KING I. Preparation The following topics are more or less important for the pupil to understand before he begins his study of the poems: the meaning of _idyll_ as Tennyson uses it; the facts about King Arthur (what we actually know and what we have reason to believe); the period of history in general covered by his reign; condition of Britain at this time; her enemies within and without; the sources of the large number of legends about Arthur; beginning of Tennyson's work on this subject; the growth of his plan. II. A Rapid Reading