Introduction
The Ancient Mariner has wantonly killed an albatross, and brought death and destruction on his ship. Surrounded now by the dead bodies of the crew, a new and ghostly sight meets his eyes.
EACH corse lay flat, lifeless and flat,
And, by the holy rood!
A man all light, a seraph-man,
On every corse there stood.
This seraph-band, each waved his hand:
It was a heavenly sight!
They stood as signals to the land,
Each one a lovely light;
This seraph-band, each waved his hand,
No voice did they impart—
No voice; but O, the silence sank
Like music on my heart.
Précis
Coleridge’s ancient Mariner sees angels or spirits rise on the dead bodies of the ship’s crew. The vision is eerie, but it is nevertheless beautiful. The spirits do not fill him with terror: their wordless salute moves him deeply, as if it had been heavenly music. (46 / 60 words)
Coleridge’s ancient Mariner sees angels or spirits rise on the dead bodies of the ship’s crew. The vision is eerie, but it is nevertheless beautiful. The spirits do not fill him with terror: their wordless salute moves him deeply, as if it had been heavenly music.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 40 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, although, despite, must, since, until, whether, who.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Each. Heaven. Lovely.
2 Lie. Stand. There.
3 Do. Hand. Sight.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Homonyms Find in Think and Speak
Each of the words below has more than one possible meaning. Compose your own sentences to show what those different meanings are.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Lie. 2. Stand. 3. Man. 4. Mine. 5. Flat. 6. Sink. 7. Light. 8. Like.
Confusables Find in Think and Speak
In each group below, you will find words that are similar to one another, but not exactly the same. Compose your own sentences to bring out the similarities and differences between them, whether in meaning, grammar or use.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
If you like what I’m doing here on Clay Lane, from time to time you could buy me a coffee.
Buy Me a Coffee is a crowdfunding website, used by over a million people. It is designed to help content creators like me make a living from their work. ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ prides itself on its security, and there is no need to register.
