“He holds it with his glittering eyes – The wedding guest stands still, And listens like a three-year-old: The sailor has his will” (Coleridge page 937). Between 1797 and 1798 Samuel Coleridge wrote his longest poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. He used this poem to show his fierce opposition to slavery and slave ships. At the beginning of the poem, three young people are about to attend a wedding party, when one of them is stopped by an old sailor with a mesmerizing look. From that moment on, the sailor tells the young man the vivid story of his most tragic voyage. During this story the young man learns of the many mistakes made by the Mariner with his crew. When he concludes his story, the young man is truly enchanted. Samuel Taylor Starting from the wedding scene, the sailor is described very vividly: "With your long gray beard and sparkling eyes..." (Coleridge pg 937). As the third sentence of the poem, Coleridge makes sure that the reader is able to imagine the sailor's face. After the sailor killed the Albatross, Life-in-death was there to take revenge: "His lips were red... his looks were free... his curls were yellow as gold: his skin was white like leprosy" (Coleridge pg 942). This not only paints a very stark picture of what will happen, but helps the reader visualize the Mariners' consequences for killing the Albatross. With this poetic device, Coleridge helps the reader imagine the story in their mind's eye and connect with the repercussions of the Mariners' mistake. Coleridge used internal rhyme to make the poem “bounce” or flow more smoothly. The definition of internal rhyme is the practice of forming a rhyme in a single long line. This is seen several times in part 2, "A light breeze was blowing, white foam was flying... we were the first to burst." (Coleridge pg. 940). Coleridge used this technique to make his poem more natural, which helps the reader relate to the situation in Coleridge uses characterization to express why the sailor acts the way he does and what brought him to that place. The use of imagery not only served to help the reader see what was happening, but it also served to create a connection between the reader and the sailor. Using internal rhyme and giving a more natural tone to this piece of poetry helps the reader better understand Coleridge's work. The use of tragedy brings the piece together, while tearing the Mariner apart. All these literary devices were to be used to show the reader the mistakes made by the sailor and the consequences suffered due to his behavior.