Essay on The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

BibliographyAsbee, S. (2006) Approaching Poetry, Milton Keynes, The Open UniversityReid, N. (2006) Coleridge, Form and Symbol, Or the Ascertaining Vision, Aldershot, Ashgate PublishingWellek, R. (1963) The Concept of Romanticism in literary historyin Bygrave, S (2006) Romantic Writings London, The Open UniversityZuk, E. Coleridges Blank Verse [online], http://www.expansivepoetryonline.com/journal/cult072004.html (Accessed 28th April 2008)

dismissal of all preceding drivel (as to adequately and respectfully embrace the noumenal realm). Coleridge’s brain waves wend in a circuitous manner, however, the final result is a sentiment-shift regarding man’s position before (or, as Coleridge concludes, beneath) God.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” details the story of a cursed mariner, framed in a conversation with a man on his way to a wedding. The Mariner’s tale truly begins when he thoughtlessly kills an albatross as his crew is sailing through the northern ice caps. Rising from Coleridge’s own experience, he ties in various themes exposing the reader to death, consequences of actions, and an interest in the unknown. By creating a clear connection between the physical and spiritual world, Coleridge shows his audience the consequences ones actions has, both good and bad, hoping to show people the importance of preserving and respecting the world that surrounds us.

(3) In addition to some other pieces of poetry, the Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge are known to have initiated the English Romantic Movement. Published originally in 1798, the initial plan for the book was for two sections, the first with two plays, but later it was rearranged with an anonymous print beginning with ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner has been interpreted in a variety of ways since it’s creation in 1797. Some, such as Gavin McGann, argue that ballad is a story of our salvation of Christ, whereas others dispute this, believing it to be a metaphor for Original Sin in the Garden of Eden. Whilst these interpretations may differ, the view that The Rime may be read as a religious text does not. Religion lies at the heart of the poem, focusing on the trials and tribulations of man, depicting a moving spiritual journey of sin, punishment, repentance and eventual redemption.

Coleridge’s Brilliant Views of Life In Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner the audience will be indulged into an enduring tale. As old as the poem is, it can be surprising that the popularity has withheld if not risen. The contradictions that detailed throughout the poem lead the audience through a series of the supernatural and large disbelief.

Lord Byron, one of the major poets of England during the Romantic Period (1785-1830), epitomized the essence of this movement of literature because “Romanticism was flourishing in the arts. In painting, literature, and music, one of the great Romantic obsessions was the ancient past” (“The Destruction of the Sennacherib”). Some of the characteristics of Romanticism are belief in the common man, reverence for nature, interest in the past, and optimism. All of Byron’s poetry reflects most of the characteristics, such as “She Walks in Beauty” and “The Destruction of the Sennacherib.” Lord Byron acted as the model of the Romantic period by not only reflecting most of or all of the Romantic ideals in just those two pieces, but he

The mariner sin, in Coleridge’s ballad “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” was that he killed “the harmless albatross.” He pays for some of it when he blesses the sea snakes but he still had more penance to do as one of the voices said, “the man hath penance done, and penance more will do.” So his penance ends up being that he has to tell his story to others and teach them the lesson and when he doesn’t “that agony returns” and “this heart within me burns.” It is romantic because the Mariner has to learn a lesson that every living creature is valuable “both man and bird and beast.” A supernatural force is involved too, there is a “kind saint”, a higher power, who when he blessed the water snake “took pity” on him, took the Albatross from his

Although the death of all the Mariner’s seamates may seem unfair, it contributes to the Mariner’s story and his experiences make him the better and wiser man. The Mariner's heart burns until his tale is told(584-585). To educate others, the Mariner took the responsibility to share his tale. This punishment that he received fits him because it does not ensue death but rather a state of knowledge and sublime. Therefore, the Mariner’s punishment advantages him as well.

In Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a wedding guest is cornered by a sailor with a glittery eye and then proceeds to listen to the Mariner’s story. In the story, the Mariner is on a voyage and he make the rash decision to kill the albatross, which is a sign of luck. Initially the act seemed to benefit the sailors. However, the weather change and the ship was sent into unstable waters. During this time the sailors, except the Mariner, resorted to cannibalism and ended up dying. The survivor encountered the supernatural world and spirit that helped him escape the jail he was trapped in. When it was thought that death was the Mariner’s only true escape, he happened upon a coast where three men helped him to shore.

One old mariner, one young man, a life forever changed. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a classic Romantic poem written by all-time great poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge(1772-1834). It tells of a fateful encounter between two people, the old man who has been forever cursed to retell his story and a young man whose whole view of life is changed because of it. Rime of the Ancient Mariner contains many important messages, however three stand out above the rest. These messages are the importance of religion, the importance of all of nature and the importance of a dead albatross.

The sun is recognised as an essential element of life and a source of physical life, however in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner this belief is overturned as the sun begins to kill as it dehydrates the crew, here the laws of nature are being overpowered and contradicted by supernatural laws. Coleridge uses death-in-life here to demonstrate how gothic literature allows us to look beyond conventional and traditional beliefs, to see the world through a different frame of mind that we wouldn’t otherwise have recognised. In the Rime of the Ancient Mariner life and death begin to collapse into one as death comes into life in a way that is unnatural, the crew are dying of thirst and everything around them is rotting they see a ship approaching them, this provides a moment of hope. Upon the ship is the image of death and life-in-death who are playing for the Mariner’s soul, “The naked hulk alongside came, And the twain were casting dice; "The game is done! I've won! I've

The elements of an idealistic imagination can be dangerously disappointing, as they potentially are in Coleridge's poem. Coleridge does not focus on this disappointment, but rather on the comfort that these hopes bring him. John Keats, contradictorily, demonstrates how imagination can truly be dangerous. What one imagines can

Music and sounds prevail over this poem. Through almost every description, Coleridge manages to give a treat for the readers’ inward ears.

In the poem “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere” by Samuel Coleridge, the Marinere attains a change of mindset about the sea snakes he encounters on his journey. This moment in the poem is more than a simple shift from the disliking to affinity for an animal; the moment shows a larger change within the Marinere himself. When one views this in conjunction with the concept of seeing in Carlos Castaneda’s novel A Separate Reality, one can discover that the Marinere completes the act of seeing. In realizing this feat of the Marinere, it portrays him as a sentimental character than may one first assume. By being able to see, the Marinere creates the shift in perspective regarding the sea snakes and gains respect for all beings by the end of the work.