Ancient Mariner Quotes

Cursed to Wander the Earth

(An analysis of the messages from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge)

“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” was first published in 1798, it told the story of a sailor who, after capriciously killing an albatross, was forced to hang the sea bird around his neck until he responded to nature with love rather than violence” (Downing). Indeed, this is the central happenings of this specter story. In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in this narrative poem, an ancient mariner approaches a young man, who is also about to attend a wedding. The mariner is cursed to wander the face of the earth and tell his ghost story to selected youth, to make his amends for disrespecting

life. The mariner practically hypnotizes the young man into listening to his story. In the aftermath of the storytelling, the young man is never the same. Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born during the year of 1772 and passed away in 1834. Coleridge’s poetry stands where real life begins to overlap into dreams, and facts are turned into fantasy. Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in Ottery St. Mary on the Devon coast of England. Coleridge was the last of 10 children. When Coleridge was nine years old, his father passed away, and Coleridge was sent to school in London. Later, Coleridge attended esteemed Cambridge University. At Cambridge, Coleridge hungered for new ideas and this unquenchable hunger led him into radical politics. Tragically, as Coleridge’s fame grew, he suffered immensely from asthma and rheumatism. While the end of his life was troubled, Coleridge undoubtedly left a legacy in poetry and literary criticism. Ultimately, there are three essential messages that can be extracted from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the albatross is a symbol for guilt.

The mariner committed a ghastly crime against nature, when he as a joke took the life of an innocent albatross. Relayed in following, “Instead of the cross, the Albatross About my neck was hung” (Coleridge 827 lines 141 & 142). The previous quote expresses that as punishment, to pay for the mariner’s senseless crime of shooting the albatross down with a crossbow; the mariner must wear the corpse of the dead sea bird around his neck. The mariner’s crewmates are the ones who force this upon the mariner. They place the bird around the mariner’s neck and do not allow him to remove the rotting sea bird. The mariner’s fellow crewmates are very displeased with the mariner’s actions. The mariner’s crewmates understood that the albatross was a good omen, and was helping them through the doldrums. Ever since the sea bird appeared, and the sailors started treating the bird well, the ice split open and the ship started to sail away from the frigid pole, filled with various glaciers, and inevitable death. The mariner was cursed in the aftermath of murdering the albatross. Importantly, the mariner was not cursed for shooting the bird, but for his disrespect for life. All the albatross did was help the sailors along and hung around the ship, the mariner killed the albatross as a joke. Therefore, the mariner must face some sort of recompense. Further expressed by Marilyn Gaull, contributor to Wordsworth Circle, “A righteous soul will have infinite respect for all forms of life.” Once again, expressing the point that one must respect all life. Thus, understandable that the albatross is a symbol of guilt, originating from the senseless, disrespectful crime of the mariner against

nature.
In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a message that can be extracted from this narrative poem is sailors are very superstitious individuals. Explained best in the following, “Ah wretch! Said they, the bird to slay, that made the breeze to blow!” (Coleridge 824 lines 95 & 96). The prior quote explains that the sailors saw the innocent albatross as a good omen. That the seabird was helping them through the treacherous, icy, ocean waters. Suddenly, after the albatross appeared, the ship started to move out of the doldrums. The sailors were furious when the mariner killed the albatross, the good omen, the saving grace. For the ship returned back into retreating to the frigid waters, and unsurprisingly, eventually, back into the doldrums. Sailors, superstitious like various athletes and individuals from the Renaissance era, must have everything in order and in just placement, or else bad is inevitable to take place. Some athletes will not partake in their events unless they have their lucky bridges or headband on their person. Likewise, individuals during the Renaissance era thought ungenial weather meant something catastrophic was about to take place. Nathan Watson, contributor to Barkhuis Publishing, indicates an interesting point about superstitious individuals in the following, “Awe and anxiety, are united in the superstitious”. These individuals have an understanding and belief in the greater, but are very anxious in their every move. Like the sailors who hung the rotting sea bird around the evildoers neck in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, another vital message that can be extracted from this text is with wisdom comes pain. Indicated in the following, “A sadder and a wiser man, He rose the morrow morn” (Coleridge 845 lines 624 & 625). The previous quote describes the young man in the aftermath of hearing the mariner relay his story to him. The young man after hearing the mariner’s story, has a greater awareness of self, and has a larger respect for all life. The young man feels bad for the mariner, for the mariner is cursed to live, and now wanders the earth alone. Knowing this wisdom has made the young man sadder, for with wisdom comes pain. In most cases, wisdom comes with years of experiences Experiences shape who individuals are as humans. Experiences often are associated with some sort of physical or mental plain, or exertion. However, one learns from their mistakes, that causes them some sorrow and sense of forlorn insight. It may seem cruel that most have to endure some sort of misery, pain before they gain wisdom. Though, when the wise try to talk some wisdom into the young and naive, the wisdom will travel in one ear and out the other. A. M. Buchan, contributor to Cengage Learning, and author of critical essay “The Sad Wisdom of the Mariner”, gives a greater insight into the obtained wisdom of the ancient mariner, “In his loneliness he has learned how blessed it is to have friends near, and he has gained compassion for all things great and small.” For the mariner through loneliness and pain gains insight into life, and self awareness. Thus, with wisdom comes a great ordeal of pain.
Undoubtedly, in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, there are three crucial messages that can be extracted from this dream-inspired text. With wisdom comes immense pain, whether physical or mental. The albatross is a symbol for guilt. Also, sailors are very superstitious individuals. As are athletes and individuals from the Renaissance era. William Mallard, contributor to Pennsylvania State University Press, expresses, “I found myself yearning for deathless wisdom with unbelievable zeal of heart.” Wisdom comes with a great price, does it equate if one can help others gain wisdom without others enduring the pain?
Buchan, A. M. “The Sad Wisdom of the Mariner.” Studies in Philology, edited by Kathy D. Darrow, vol. 61, no. 4, Oct. 1964, pp. 669–688. Literature Resource Center, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1420083349/GLS?u=wylrc_wyomingst&sid=GLS&xid=c4a40849. Accessed 2018.
Downing, Crystal. “Rime of the Ancient Martian.” Books & Culture, 2005, p. 45. Literature Resource Center, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A136154306/GLS?u=wylrc_wyomingst&sid=GLS&xid=8f0ccf94. Accessed 2018.
Gaull, Marilyn. “Abundant Recompense.” Wordsworth Circle, vol. 37, no. 3, 2006, p. 98. Literature Resource Center, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A163466125/GLS?u=wylrc_wyomingst&sid=GLS&xid=6db14693. Accessed 2018.
Mallard, William. “Happiness: Love of Wisdom, Cicero (Confessions III, 1-5).” Language and Love: Introducing Augustine's Religious Thought Through the Confessions Story, edited by Jelena O. Krstovic, Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, Penn., 1994, pp. 33–45. Literature Resource Center, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1420079220/GLS?u=wylrc_wyomingst&sid=GLS&xid=eb35ad2a. Accessed 2018.
Watson, Nathan. “Dreams and Superstition: a Reinterpretation of Satire in Apuleius, Metamorphoses 11.” Ancient Narrative, vol. 11, 2013, p. 133. Literature Resource Center, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A384338542/GLS?u=wylrc_wyomingst&sid=GLS&xid=172c3c71. Accessed 2018.