The Rime of the Ancient Mariner An Analysis “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is a tale of crime and penance on the high seas. Written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the poem takes place on a vast and unforgiving sea, where an old mariner must come to terms with his sins and the folly of humankind. Although, the core story of the poem is agreed upon, its finer details and intricacies remain a highly debated topic among literary critics. In my opinion, it is the story of the heavy price one must pay for disrupting the order of nature. Others debate that the tale is about the penance one must pay after committing a crime against God himself. Regardless, the tale remains that of a man who spent his life atoning for his crimes. Samuel Taylor …show more content…
The term lyrical ballad was actually coined by Coleridge and Wordsworth as they were the first to combine the genres. Lyrical ballads are typically composed of four line stanzas and an alternating iambic rhythm of tetrameter and trimeter. In a lyrical ballad, lines one and two rhyme with lines three and four respectively; however, Coleridge does not always adhere to this pattern. In addition, Coleridge also has some stanzas which are up to six lines instead of four and will at times use internal and visual rhyme instead of, or in addition to, external rhyme. As for the archaic script of the writing, it invokes a feeling that the story and in turn the mariner, are much older than they actually are. “Though Rime of the Ancient Mariner doesn’t strictly adhere to the perfect ballad structure, these slight technical manipulations at places, have created beautiful and miraculous effects, which adds to Coleridge’s achievement.” (Khullar …show more content…
After the death of the albatross which “In this case…stands for all animals.” (Hochman 148), their ship is left stranded on a barren, windless sea. The shooting itself is senseless, the act without meaning. “That is, killing an animal apart from the purpose of survival, Coleridge seems to say, is a crime, i.e., murder, notably against the animal but against all of nature, especially one policed by spirits.” (Hochman 148). After drifting for days or perhaps even weeks, the crew is visited by the spirits of death and living-death. The spirit of death claims the lives of the crew while the spirit of living-death curses the ancient mariner to spend eternity on the windless sea. Lost and now alone on an endless ocean, the ocean mariner gives up hope of ever knowing anything else, and in his effort to shut out the blistering sun and taunting waves, he begs for a chance to repent. “Ironically, it is the “slimy”, “rotten” creatures themselves that finally comfort the Ancient Mariner and allow him to pray.” (GradeSaver, 4). Although, the Ancient Mariner experiences an interlude or of peace with the sounds of the skylark and gentle whispers of the wind, this “…does not transform him in the way the blessing of the water snakes did. The act of blessing
The Seafarer highlites the transience of wordly joys which are so little important and the fact thet we have no power in comparison to God.
Roughly halfway into the poem, his religious outlook is revealed as he expresses how “the joys of the Lord are hotter for me than this dead life, loaned on land” (64b-65). Even though the hardships of a seafarer appeals to the speaker, he thinks of himself as a “dead” man who would rather enjoy “the joys of the Lord” (64b-65). The speaker addresses the unexpectedness of death for those “who dreads not the Lord” and the utter instability of the earth (106). “The Seafarer” presents the idea that the Lord is the only stable thing in the universe and the cure to the inner conflicts of the speaker. The speaker’s continued explanation of the short life of earthly things emphasizes this idea. The sea travel before ultimately and undoubtedly becomes a metaphor of the spiritual journey of a devoted Christian.
In “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Coleridge, The Ancient Mariner is telling his story to a bypassing guest at the wedding, and he is describing the experience of being alone at sea surrounded by only water and his dead crewmates. Coleridge creates dramatic suspense and mystery in this passage through the uses of repetition, simile and imagery.
The mariner realized that his pride blinded him to the fact that the life of the albatross, and subsequently the lives all of God’s creatures, was just as valuable as his. He was cursed because he thoughtlessly killed the Albatross. However, after he finally realized the gravity of his actions, he found forgiveness. Ambitious actions committed without contemplating the consequences are the cause of human fallibility. Only through further ambition and perseverance can one hope to ease the consequences that may arise. The goals that Life-in-Death set the mariner towards, forgiveness and love, were only reached because of the mariner’s further actions. Human ambition can be somewhat fickle in nature; it can hurt or help depending on if one considers
Coleridge and Poe are both known for writing incredible horror stories. There most famous stories are The Raven, Poe, and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Coleridge. Both stories were the first of their kind and were written around the same time. These poems have many things in common and many other things not in common. The main focus here is the symbolism of the birds in the poem. The poems are in fact based around the birds and their meanings. There are three main points to compare between the symbolism of the birds, they are; the birds both being an omen, the birds giving a feeling of remorse or prosperity, and the birds creating a false hope.
Overall “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is poem that seems like a simple story told by a sailor about his woes at sea. But Coleridge uses many details to make symbols throughout the story for the reader to interpret and see the connections between it and religion. Whether it be through the Christ like albatross, which most would just see as a simple bird, or the woman on the boat showing how the lifestyle might be fun but ultimate leads to nothing we see that these small details create a bigger story than what is just on the cover.
The Mariner’s punishment/penance was to be Nomadic, moving from land to land, telling others about his story. He must confess his sins to random strangers to warn them of the terrible consequences thoughtless actions can have. Scholar Seamus Perry comments, “We never learn why the Mariner shot the bird, but his protracted suffering is described in agonising detail,”(Perry). Coleridge purposefully goes into major detail about the Mariner’s suffering, because actions done in childhood can affect
The resolution of the Mariners decision caused him and his shipmates to fall into a curse, which led the Mariner into an eternal penance. The Mariners penances was to retell the story of what a Mariner's choice against nature he made and the events that he went through at sea. After the death of the Albatross, the Mariner felt as if he was pull down by a curse. The vengeance of the curse occurs as a result of his actions, leading towards the Mariner's shipmates souls being taken away. Following the death of the Mariner's soul, the Mariner began to experienced redemptions against the decisions he
The whole cycle begins with the mariner’s crime against nature: the shooting of the albatross. In the story, the mariner betrays nature by shooting the Albatross. This action against nature is rather extreme, for he takes this thought of death lightly. The Albatross, as a representative of nature, means nothing to the Mariner. These thoughts are quickly changed, though, as Nature begins to start the punishment for his crimes commence when there is, "Water, water, everywhere nor any drop to drink." He is punished harshly for killing the symbol of nature that everyone reveres. He is beaten down by the sun with its rays and is taunted by the endless sight of water that he cannot drink. Nature is the force in this poem that has power to decide what is right or wrong and how to deal with the actions.
A significant theme in Samuel Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," is Christianity, which is portrayed through the Mariner’s epic journey. This text is set between the physical world and the metaphysical (spiritual world), similar to religious teachings found in the Bible. With the use of vivid descriptions and strong language in this ballad, moral lessons appear that connect both man and God in order to discover an innate bond and understanding. Though this tale is overwhelmingly bizarre and dark, the moral lessons taught are in line with central aspects of both the romantic period and the Christian religion. In Coleridge's ballad, "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," many Christian ideals are represented throughout the treacherous journey of the Mariner, such as sin, forgiveness, and prayer.
Beaten down by his ancient years, the Mariner tells the story of superstition, suspense, drama, and danger through Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In this 1798, poem, S. T. Coleridge vividly expresses the allegory of his poem through the symbolism of man’s human nature and the salvation of Christ. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is an allegory which represents the natural and spiritual world of man, it also demonstrates the imprisonment and retribution of sin, and contains the symbolism of penance and redemption.
In Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s most famous work, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, I found literary critics, college professors, and multiple sources discussing the poem. The critics discussed the following work by the use of supernaturalism and religious symbolism. The poem can be viewed as a “dream voyage to another realm” (Keane 2). The poem reveals the “romantic myth of a circular transcending journey, organized innocence, and salvation” (Burke 2). In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Coleridge utilizes the concepts of symbols and supernatural elements to illustrate the fall and redemption of the ancient mariner.
As the ancient Mariner described his adventures at sea to the Wedding-Guest, the Guest became saddened because he identified his own selfish ways with those of the Mariner. The mariner told the Guest that he and his ship-mates were lucky because at the beginning of their voyage they had good weather. The mariner only saw what was on the surface -- he did not see the good weather as evidence that Someone was guiding them. Also, when he shot the Albatross, the Mariner did not have any reason for doing so. The Albatross did nothing wrong, yet the Mariner thought nothing of it and without thinking of the significance of the act, he killed the bird. At this, the Guest was reminded of how self-absorbed he, too, was, and the sinful nature of man. At the beginning of the poem he was very much intent on arriving at the wedding on time. He did not care at all about what it was that the Mariner had to tell him; he did not want to be detained even if the Mariner was in trouble. Instead, he spoke rudely to the mariner, calling him a "gray-beard loon", and tried to go on his own way.
He has to feel a pain in his chest that becomes unbearable until he sees a certain soul that is the right one to tell. No matter what. In the long poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge has three lessons about human life: supernatural, pride, and suffering. In “Rime” by Sam Coleridge, the mariner goes through many supernatural events that scare him into submission. Coleridge does a great job of describing the scenery around the boat that the mariner resides in.
...ort the reader into a spiritual journey of guilt, retribution, and rebirth as a symbol of the journey of Christianity. Expressing the inherent struggles of humanity for sin and redemption, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" allows the reader to suppose that supernatural situations are real. Coleridge uses supernatural events to bring to live the ideas he expresses in his work. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" clearly demonstrates the ideals of Christianity as salvation and the power of sympathetic imagination.