As The Ancient Mariner, because Of the difficulties it presents, may be taken up to advantage toward the end of the pupil's preparation of the English reading required for admission to college, this edition Of the poem is designed especially for the use of more advanced students. Assum ing on the part of the pupil some knowledge of many of the texts assigned, the Introduction is intended, not only to prepare the student to understand the poem itself, but also to point the way to a comprehensive study of literature in its larger significance; and it attempts, accordingly, by the use Of the historical method, to set The Ancient Mariner in its right relations with reference both to Coleridge and to its place in English literature. By thus presenting the poem in its wider bearings, the book aims to suggest certain fundamental principles Of literary investigation, and, by bringing the student to a true conception of what literature is, to stimulate an interest in further study.
