In 1800 the second edition of the Lyrical Ballads appeared, with another volume of poems to accompany the first. Coleridge, at Wordsworth's suggestion, had modernized much of the spelling and the title appeared in the form at the head of this page. The text of the poem generally used today appeared in Coleridge's collection Sibylline Leaves in 1817. Back to top Responding to the poem When you have read the poem, you will be expected to do some of the activities which are outlined below. Written work could be done in a neat exercise book or in a booklet.
Every ship is supposed to have a log book, which is filled in every day by the captain.
You should write a series of entries for the log of the ship in the poem. If you wish you can make the log look old by staining the pages, by your handwriting and spelling. The fantastic details in the story are well-suited to vivid illustration. You can use a series of pictures with captions underneath to turn the poem into either a storyboard for a film version, or as a comic strip. For the captions you should use either stanzas of the poem, the prose explanations Coleridge puts in the margin, or both.