Unanswered Questions in the Rime of the Old Mariner
The Rime of the Old Mariner is riddled with archaic language that purposely leaves the reader with numerous unresolved questions. Unanswered questions prove so numerous they can either leave the reader dissatisfied with the conclusion or enlightened by the introspective thought the questions provoke. Furthermore, the juxtaposition of the literal side notes and the abstract nature of the iambic tetrameter ballad only further complicates Samuel Coleridge’s work. The poem draws in readers with its consistently archaic language; finding a definitive theme within it proves nearly impossible and leaves readers questioning the intent of a ballad with such lack of closure and obvious themes.
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the first few lines of the poem, a wedding guest becomes so awestruck by the mariner that he is unable to leave for the wedding until The Mariner concludes his tale. What quality of The Mariner transfixed the wedding guest to the point where he missed the wedding and furthermore, why did a strange mariner who appeared to have no correlation to the wedding attend? The mariner possessed no stunning characteristics besides, maybe, his “glittering eye.” Coleridge creates an initial air of mystery that leads the reader to question the motivations of all the ballad’s characters and events. Neither the mariner nor the wedding guest understand the true motivation for their conversation at that very moment; their reasoning originates mysteriously from within and allows the reader to formulate their own opinion on the motivation for the discourse. Perhaps even more fascinating, the albatross ultimately symbolizes questionable motives and reasoning.
The Mariner, for no apparent reason, shoots the innocent, peaceful albatross dead out of the sky. Coleridge addresses the lack of logic in people’s actions and how they must seek penance to face and repent for their sins. The albatross represents human impurity: for unknown reasons, people take something pure and beautiful and destroy it. The albatross represents Jesus Christ; he was pure and sinless but was crucified and condemned. In the same way, the albatross represents innocence and purity and just like Jesus, paid the ultimate price for acts or sins he did not …show more content…
commit. For his transgressions, The Mariner was eventually required to wear the albatross around his neck.
Initially, The Mariner convinced the ship’s crew that he had in fact preformed an honorable act and claimed the albatross did not bring the wind but instead brought the fog. Quickly believing him, the crew praised him for shooting the bird and for an unknown reason kept the deceased bird onboard the ship. When the crew realized the bird had been their guide, they forced the mariner to wear the albatross around his neck as penance for his sins. The albatross constantly reminds him of his senseless act and reminds the reader that some actions have repercussions that far outweigh their initial benefits. His punishment does not require some convoluted reminder or therapy session; his punishment lies with him always and forces him, through the albatross’s decaying scent and beady gaze to remember and repent for his
sins. The Rime of the Old Mariner, although riddled with archaic language, leaves the reader inspired through its open interpretation. The Mariner manages to transfix a wedding guest on a story so interestingly strange that the wedding guest misses the entire wedding. Coleridge intended for almost the whole ballad to leave readers with unanswered questions. Without questions—had everything been stated blatently—the work would lose poignancy. Would the work encourage the reader to wonder about their own motivation without an example to highlight their own senseless sin? The ballad’s vagueness promotes thought that would not enter our minds otherwise. Through vagueness and unanswered questions, Coleridge effectively leads readers on a journey that not only entertains but allows them to introspectively look at their own motivations and desires to better understand themselves.
The main theme of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem is to learn from your mistakes. After telling his tale to the Wedding Guest, the Ancient Mariner realized that the murder of the Albatross was a mistake and lived a life of penance. The act of murder was an impulsive act because the Mariner felt threatened by the Albatross their actions. The deaths of both birds brought about memories from both the Ancient Mariner and Hagar which they shared with other people, the Wedding Guest and Murray F. Lees. These memories help them to realize the mistakes they made. Through their own personal recollections, the Ancient Mariner and Hagar both achieved a better understanding of their lives and in turn were able to die with a sense of contentment and relief.
In the 1798 and the 1817 text of the, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, There are certain changes. Changes that effect the poem and the way that the reader sees the poem. Some of these changes include reading devices called glosses. There are many reasons for the glosses to be put into the poem. One of the reasons is to help the reader interpret lines in the poem that can be confusing. These glosses are a brief interpretation of the stanza, so that the reader will understand it the way that Coleridge intended them to. An example of this is:
Lepore, Amy. "Why does the Mariner kill the albatross? What is the symbolic nature of the action?" Enotes.com. Enotes Inc., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. .
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 costs of their decisions would weigh heavily on them both throughout their travels. Because of his rash decision, the albatross was hung around the Mariner’s neck, a burden which, along with his guilt, he’d have to carry for a long time. Avenging the albatross also were the ghastly duo who gambled for the Mariner’s life- all the members of his crew, some of whom were very close to him, “dropp'd down one by one… With heavy thump, a lifeless lump” (l. 219-220), killed by Death. They, too, shared the blame for the Mariner’s crime, as they had condoned his action as long as things were going well. Ma...
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
Biblical allusions emerge throughout the poem that reference the cross, Jesus and Jesus’ disciples. The albatross, a sign of hope for those struggling, aids the mariner and his crew to sail safely and with ease. Similar to the intentions of Jesus, the albatross frees individuals
The Mariner’s motivation to share his tale also demonstrates the repressive and psychological nature of the frame. As the Mariner recounts his experiences on the ship and his punishment for shooting the albatross, his tale becomes a parable about respecting the natural world. The Mariner conveys this moral to the wedding-guest in the end-frame of the poem, as he states, “He prayeth well, who loveth well / Both man and bird and beast […] For the dear God who loveth us, / He made and loveth all” (Coleridge 612-617). Here, the Mariner appeals to a divine authority, and directly correlates the order of nature with God’s will. In doing so, he warns the wedding-guest that to think oneself above nature– as he did when he shot the albatross– is to think oneself above God. However, while this is the moral understanding the Mariner wishes to pass on, imparting wisdom is not his only motivation. As the Mariner states,
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.
Coleridge uses religious and natural symbolism, which correspond with one another and play the most important roles in this poem. Although there are many different interpretations of this poem, one idea that has remained common throughout the poem is that of the religious symbolism present. Especially that of Christ and his ability to save, which was present throughout this poem. The symbolism is that of the albatross. The albatross saves the Mariner for bad weather and keeps the sailors in
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.
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.
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 catalyst for the emergence of Christian symbolism occurs when the mariner commits a sin by murdering one of God’s creatures. By killing the albatross, he inevitably brings about a series of trials amongst himself and those aboard the ship. Though the significance of this sin is first unseen by the mariner, supernatural forces quickly condemn his actions as a severe crime against nature. With no real reason, the mariner kills the albatross and soon realizes the magnitude of his actions. Viewed beyond simply a good luck charm, “At length did cross an Albatross, Through the fog it came; As if it had been a Christian soul, We hailed it in God’s name” (ll. 63-6). The idea of the Albatross representing Jesus Christ is a direct parallel in the Christian religion. The death of the Albatross is reminiscent of the death of Jesus in that both died as a result of another’s sin and betrayal of God’s word. Similar accounts of betrayal are portrayed ...
In discussing the symbolism of guilt in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", it is important to understand that in the eyes of the Romantics God was one with Nature. Because of this belief a sin against Nature was seen as a sin against God. In line 82 of the poem, the Mariner simply says, "I shot the Albatross." In saying this, the reader often questions why the bird was shot. There is no explanation. The Albatross was shot without reason or motive very much like the sin of humans. Here the poem begins to take on its allegorical purpose in which the Albatross symbolizes not only sin, but possibly Jesus as well. In Christianity, Jesus died upon the cross for the sins of humanity. He was punished in order for ...