similar use, far more pronounced in his earlier than his later version. It is true such use of archaic forms might be imitation of the Percy ballads or of Chatterton. Yet the fact that Coleridge had never before used such archaisms, and the nearness of the Mariner to Coleridge's enthusiasm for Taylor, would imply the special influence of the latter's poem.
Another significant feature of the Ancient Mariner is its considerable use of internal rime, that is double rime within the line. We know, too, from a later letter of Coleridge to Southey, that the former greatly liked this feature, while Taylor thought it of little importance.[1] Yet Taylor had used internal rime in six of his stanzas,[2] twice in one of them, and this had apparently drawn Coleridge's attention to it. It need scarcely be mentioned that internal rime is not a normal feature of ballad poetry, yet Coleridge made it very prominent in his poem. In almost one-third of the stanzas internal rime occurs, while it is twice found in at least eight. Taylor's use of this form was in direct imitation of Burger, who had employed it occasionally. Coleridge, attracted by Taylor's use, greatly increases it in his poem.
It is perhaps not so certain that Coleridge caught up Taylor's frequent use of repetition, a common fact in ballad poetry. Yet Taylor had employed such repetition with great effectiveness, and Coleridge had carried its use still further in his ballad. Nor must one be too positive about minor features. For example, Taylor once used the feminine ending in rime, stanza 60, and Coleridge has seven cases of such rime, while Scott, also following the ballad measure in his William and Helen, does not use it at all.
It would be easy to note similarities of phrasing or imagery in the two poems. The rapid movement of the ship past kirk and hill and light-house top reminds one of the swiftness with which the spectre William and Lenore pass various objects. Moreover, the description of such action is repeated a second time in each poem. Not only is the wedding guest most important in Coleridge's poem, but other wedding guests are seen through opened doors in the distance, as William tells his bride in Taylor's translation,
- ↑ Coleridge's letter, Feb. 28, 1800, is worth quoting: "William Taylor, from whom I have received a couple of letters full of thought and information, says what astounded me, that double rhymes in our language have always a ludicrous association. Mercy on the man! where are his ears and feelings? His taste can not be quite right, from this observation; but he is a famous fellow—that is not to be denied."—Letters of Coleridge, p. 332.
- ↑ See stanzas 11, 24, 39, 41 (twice), 50, 59.
