Religion In The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

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. 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. Coleridge shows his audience the consequences of actions by creating a clear connection between the physical and spiritual world, hoping to show people the importance of preserving and respecting the God given world.

Twice before the Mariner begins his narrative, Coleridge introduces the idea of a connection between the physical and spiritual world. Before he even begins the main frame narrative, he opens his story with a section written

As the Mariner looks down at the sea snakes, he unknowingly blesses them by admiring “their beauty and […] happiness” (306). By blessing these creatures, the Mariner spiritually reaches out into something unseen and much bigger than himself, allowing his heart that was “dry as dust” to have life once again, “A spring of love gusht from my heart, / And I blessed them unaware!” (306). At this moment, the Albatross that was tied around his neck, symbolizing his curse of spiritual death, breaks free and falls into the sea. The spiritual effects of his blessing are immediately obvious for he states, “The self same moment I could pray;” (306). Furthermore, the blessing of these creatures sets into affect various things that continue to change the Mariner’s fortune. For several days, he had gone with neither rest nor water. Once he blesses the snakes, he was finally “sent […] gentle sleep from Heaven” and the previously empty buckets on deck were filled by rain, allowing him to drink. This could be further interpreted that after several days of spiritual death, the Mariner finally receives the spiritual rest he needs as well as the life bringing water that a spiritual connection brings any man. Out of nowhere spirits flood the ship, reanimating the dead bodies of his crew. Though his men do not truly come back to life, this shows that his blessing even brought life to

Coleridge manages to communicate to his audience that decisions do not just affect the person making them, and the affects are not bound to the realm in which they are made. It affects their spirit, their friends, their families, and anything else interacting in their environment. Even in the end, it is clear that the Mariner is not fully relieved of all curses; instead he must roam the world telling his story. In life, it is just as obvious that one may never see the full effect of any given decision. In a spiritual sense, man is always called to something bigger than himself. And in submitting to God’s plan, people step into a story that is so timeless that no decision seems like it would matter, but so personal, that every action will have eternal effects. Since this is true, it is vital that each decision is made with an eternal mindset, knowing that at any moment, there is an impact on an eternal