The Rime Of The Ancient Marine

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Recommended: Romantic vs Victorian literature

Supernatural vs. Symbolism
A detailed comparison

The restrained balance valued in 18th century culture was abandoned in favor of emotional intensity, often taken to extremes of raptures, and nostalgia. The creative imagination occupied the center of Romantic views, which differed from the Victorian emphasis on politics and the orderly, logical and aesthetically consistent implications on daily 18th and 19th century life. Romantics often remain bias on cultural diversity and perception over reason, while Victorians linger around the basis of philanthropy and modernization. Both supernatural and religious aspects surrounding Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market tend to show similarities. A comparison between the two would show a significant explanation.

Issues of cultural and spiritual backgrounds invoked by symbolist objects are commonly seen in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Goblin Market.

'At length did cross and Albatross,
Thorough the fog it came;
As if it had been a Christian soul,
We hailed it in God's name.';
Lines 63-66
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

The significance of sighting the Albatross represents the first living creature the crew has seen, while stranded in the barren South Pole. When the Mariner shoots the bird, he is faced with judgements passed by his crewmates and natural obstacles that occur for minor periods, punishments passed by god are done mentally...

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