Hillier, Russell M. "Coleridge's Dilemma And The Method Of "Sacred Sympathy": Atonement As Problem And Solution In "The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner.." Papers On Language & Literature 45.1 (2009): 8-36. Sociological Collection. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.
Hillier describes “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” as a literary work with no central resolution of concepts for interpretation. The article explores Coleridge’s personal issues with Christianity at the time and how this affected The Rime and moreover the relationship between the story of the crucifixion and the albatross and mariner. Atonement receives attention as the foothold into the story and whether atoning leads to redemption through Christianity.
Throughout the piece, Hillier addresses Coleridge’s
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He also stresses the conflict between Christian structures and demonic forces. The murder of the Albatross sets into motion the “transmogrification” of the Mariner. In other words, the Rime shifts to a tale of death, darkness, and destruction in contrast to the earlier warm, welcome, home. Watkins states the reversal occurs this exact moment and, “the conventional value scheme that gives coherence and purpose to the world the Mariner has left begins to be redefined.” Watkins offers the Mariner as an agent of evil, as a demon, and as a vampire, “the nature of this underworld is seen clearly in the Mariner’s action of sucking his own blood… this world of utter alienation of the resources of life are increasingly self-consuming” (Watkins 27). Through suggestion, the Mariner systematically extinguishes the innocence and Christian values of all that hear his tale by criticizing traditional notions of community. Watkins concludes that the Rime should be read as a response to the social unrest of the Romantic period and that history in fact manifests itself in the form of demons and is imperative to discerning the narrative elements of the
“Recovering the Scandal of the Cross,” (Green, Baker) presents an alternative means of thinking for Christians theologically. The author’s task of interpreting culture and communicating within a culture is incredibly difficult. Much of the biblical teaching of God is rooted into communicating to a specific group of people and a certain culture. Yet God has chosen the Bible as the method of communicating himself to the world. Green and Baker begin to lay the groundwork of historical influence of atonement from Anselm and Irenaeus. They later introduce ideas from Charles Hodge and penal substitution. There are four major models of explanations of the atonement: Christus Victor, penal substitution, satisfaction and moral influence. Although others are mentioned in the book, this sets the stage of the historic dilemma from which they can view atonement in their discussion of tradition.
The reader might not understand how to interpret the stanza; they could interpret however they wanted to. Coleridge placed the glosses in so that the reader would understand the Mariner woke up and realized that he had done his penance. These...
Murphy, B. & Shirley J. The Literary Encyclopedia. [nl], August 31, 2004. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2326. Access on: 22 Aug 2010.
In both “Roger Malvin's Burial” and “The Minister's Black Veil,” Nathaniel Hawthorne centralizes the themes of sin, guilt, and repentance. Both are very much set in terms of what defines sin and, in turn, what would constitute action leaving an opening for forgiveness, and both leave many a question unanswered in the story being told. The main question for us becomes, then, one of applicability. Does either story hold a message, if so, what? In considering the two, it may be that they do indeed hold a message, but maybe that message is not one that Hawthorne himself could ever have intended. In this paper I will deal with the themes of guilt, sin, repentance and how Hawthorne developed them in both stories.
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...
In the article, “A Mock-Biblical Controversy: Sir Richard Blackmore in the Dunciad,” Thomas Jemielity calls Blackmore “the Everlasting Blackmore” for two reasons: one, because Blackmore’s favourite form was the epic (he wrote at least four epics between 1695 and 1723), and two, because Alexander Pope’s ridicule of Blackmore in Peri Bathous immortalizes him as a prominent figure in Eighteenth-century poetry (265). Unlike most poets who perfected the lyric and pastoral first, Blackmore ambitiously began his poetic career with an epic called, Prince Arthur: An Heroick Poem in Ten Books (1695), and this decision, as Samuel Johnson indicates, left him “that much more open to criticism” (Solomon 43). Johnson’s prediction was unequivocally accurate, and no one criticized Blackmore more than Pope, who included Blackmore’s poetry in Peri Bathous, Or the Art of Sinking in Poetry (1727), a “how-to” manual on writing bad poetry. This essay will begin with a discussion of the possible causes behind the Blackmore-Pope, followed by an analysis of Peri Bathous, a comparison between Prince Arthur, and Creation, and finally a brief look at Pope’s Essay on Man (1734) and Blackmore’s Creation. Ultimately, this essay will show how Pope’s ridicule of Blackmore in Peri Bathous was not fully justified as Pope initiated their feud, unfairly chose Blackmore’s first work instead of his best work to criticize, and failed to acknowledge Blackmore for his contributions to An Essay on Man, Pope’s greatest work.
To them it seemed that within this albatross God sent wind to let the ship start moving. Another reason might be is that it also brought fog and rain when it appeared. Also, some of the Christian morals or lens in the poem is that in the end the mariner teaches the lesson within him sins that he has committed. For example, he says that he enjoys praying, and instructs an appreciation and respect for God, God’s creatures, and all of nature. Further, his killing of the Albatross, a great sin and crime, can be seen as an allegorical representation of the Christian stories. Some examples of these representations
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 Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 1c. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print. The.
In Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the author uses the story of a sailor and his adventures to reveal aspects of life. This tale follows the Mariner and his crew as they travel between the equator and the south pole, and then back to England. The author's use of symbolism lends the work to adults as a complex web of representation, rather than a children's book about a sailor.First, in the poem, the ship symbolizes the body of man. The ship experiences trials and tribulations just as a real person does. Its carrying the Mariner (symbolizing the individual soul) and crew shows that Coleridge saw the body as a mere vessel of the soul. This symbol of a boat is an especially powerful one, because one steers a ship to an extent, yet its fate lies in the hands of the winds and currents.Secondly, the albatross symbolizes Christ. Just as the Mariner senselessly slays the bird, man crucifies Christ whose perfection is unchallenged. Even though Christ represents mankind's one chance at achieving Heaven, man continues to persecute Him. The albatross symbolizes the sailors' one chance at deliverance from icy death and the Mariner shoots him.Thirdly, the South Pole symbolizes Hell. No visible wind blows the unfortunate crew toward the South Pole. Rather, an unseen force pulls them there. Such is the case when the world's temptations lure one to Hell. Just as the sailors approach far to close to this icy purgatory, their Redeemer, the albatross, or at least his spirit, leads them safely back in the right direction.Fourthly, in the poem England symbolizes Heaven. When the Mariner first sees his country, a great sense of hope and joy overcome him. At the point when the Mariner is about to enter Heaven, the body, symbolized by the ship, must die.
The mariner begins to find his salvation when he begins to look on the 'slimy things' as creatures of strange beauty. When "the mariner begins to find his salvation when he begins to look on the 'slimy things' as creatures of strange beauty" he understands the Albatross is a symbol of nature and he realizes what he had done wrong. The mariner is forgiven after sufficient penance. The mariner's experience represents a renewal of the impulse of love towards other living things. Once he reconciles his punishment is lifted.
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.
However, in the two works by Coleridge, the imagination takes on different roles in each world. In the Ancient Mariner, the imagination is the substance that holds all life together, much like how the millio...
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.
- - -. “Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800.” http://go.galegroup.com. N.p., 1988. Web. 9 Dec. 2010. .