(Coleridge introduces his tale by describing an old gray-headed sailor who approaches three young men headed for a wedding celebration and compels one of them, the groom's next-of-kin, to hear his story. O Wedding-Guest! this sent both been Alone on a wide wide sea: So lonely 'twas, that God himself Scarce seemed there to be. At first the intrusion is resented, but the stor is remarkable indeed, and the listener - who, of course, represents …showed first 75 words of 1514 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1514 total…creation: He prayeth well, who loveth well Both man and bird and beast. He prayeth best, who loveth best All things both great and small; For the dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth all. The Wedding Guest, incidentally, never does go on to the wedding. So moved is he by the mood of the Mariner, that when the old man vanishes, he also departs, "a sadder and a wiser man.") ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**