Christianity in rime of the Ancient Mariner

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Christianity in rime of the Ancient Mariner

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, penned by Samuel Coleridge, and

published for the first time in 1798 in the co-authored “Lyrical

Ballads” with William Wordsworth, is a poem in which an old sailor

recounts his tales to a young wedding guest. The tale of the old

seafarer was so unbelievable and supernatural, that the wedding guest

and all others who hear the tale are captivated and, as Coleridge

suggests, listen “like a three years’ child” (15). Embedded through

the Mariner’s tale is a story that resembles the Christianesque path

from sin to salvation. Throughout his poem, Coleridge uses the

Albatross as a Christ-like figure to illustrate the stages of the

Mariner’s sin, repentance, salvation, and prostelization.

Before the Albatross finds the sailors, they are frozen in the sea in

the Antarctic Circle. When the sailors spot the bird, they believe it

will bring them good fortune as Coleridge illustrates in lines 63-66:

At length did cross an Albatross

Through the fog it came;

As if it had been a Christian soul,

We hail’d it in God’s name (63-66).

Sure enough, the Albatross saves the sailors by breaking up the ice

surrounding their ship and allowing them to float freely in the

water. The bird saved the sailors as Jesus Christ saved mankind from

a sinful destruction. Coleridge uses words of religious significance

like “Christian soul” (65) and “God’s name” (66) to describe the

coming of the Albatross. These words invoke a sense of grandeur and

power in the Albatross giving it a feeling of omnipotence. As the

sailors are freed from their earthly bonds of ice, the Mariner, in

lines 68-70 explains: And round and round it flew./The ice did split

with a ...

... middle of paper ...

...from the freezing bonds of

death. The Mariner is wrought with jealousy and human sin and kills

the Albatross. As a representation of his sin, the Mariner must wear

the Albatross around his neck as an ever-present reminder of his sin

and lack of worthiness, much like Christians were crosses around their

necks even today. After the Mariner realizes his the value of all

creatures big and small and speaks a true prayer seeking of heart-felt

repentance, the Albatross breaks free and the Mariner feels forgiven

and free. Now, the Mariner continues his feeling of forgiveness by

paying penance for the remainder of his days recounting to all, his

tale of the dangers of sin to all who will listen, including the

wedding guest and the Christian hermit. With each guest who listens

to the tale of his forgiveness, the Mariner feels like a more complete

and better person.

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