Rime Of The Ancient Mariner Research Paper

Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, is acknowledged by scholars as the start of the Romantic Period, a time in which man wished to become one with nature, and through that would be able to reach God. These Lyrical Ballads completely embody the Romantic principles that many still value today. The reader follows the journey of a man who has sinned and must pay for his insolent actions. While at sea, he is completely at the mercy of nature and his surroundings. With the help of supernatural forces, the protagonist is forced to confess his sins and repent continuously, in hopes of finally balancing his ego. This framed narrative is told from the protagonist himself to a wedding guest. This piece illustrates the new and radical

They held a deep appreciation for pantheism. People believed that God lived in nature around them and in order to reach heaven and be close to God, they must love and respect nature. Life of the natural world was regarded in the same respect as man, and to mistreat it, was a sin. The first mistake of the ancient Mariner comes at the end of Part I. While at sea the ancient Mariners ship is stuck and surrounded by icebergs. An albatross comes and serves as a good omen for the ship, the icebergs break and they continue on their journey, until the ancient Mariner commits his detrimental sin. “‘God save thee, ancient Mariner!/ From the fiends, that plague thee thus! -/ Why look’st thou so?’-’With my crossbow/ I shot the Albatross” (“Rime” 79-82). To murder an animal for sport is the ultimate sin in the eyes of a Romantic. His actions cause a domino effect of misfortunes that occur, which leaves him no choice other than to continuously repent. After a series of unfortunate and supernatural events, the reader begins to see a change in the ancient Mariner. Initially cynical and indifferent to the nature around him, in part V there is a shift in his attitude towards nature. “I heard the skylark sing;/ Sometimes all little birds that are,/ How they seemed to fill the sea and air/ With their sweet jargoning!” (“Rime” 68-71). The spiritual world communicates through the natural world. The ancient Mariner had to suffer the consequences

The poem is told in mostly quatrains, but sometimes this set form is sacrificed to enhance the meaning of the poem. As for meter, Coleridge stays pretty consistent with iambs throughout the poem. However, it strays in specific instances which lets the reader know there is something important to be acknowledged in that stanza. Towards the end of journey, the ancient Mariners ship begins to sink out of nowhere, “Upon the whirl, where sank the ship,/ The boat spun round and round;/ And all was still, save that the hill/ Was telling of the sound” (“Rime” 43-46). Prior to this stanza in Part VII, every stanza is in iambs. Coleridge wants to emphasize the supernatural occurrence that is happening with the sinking of his ship. The belief in the supernatural is a huge element of Romanticism and it is conveyed by straying to a trochee meter. Not only is it used to articulate the supernatural, but also to highlight the ancient Mariners alteration in character. As the ancient Mariner is wrapping up his tale to the Wedding-Guest he explains why he must repeat his tale, “Since then, at an uncertain hour,/ That agony returns:/ And till my ghastly tale is told./ This heart within me burns.” (“Rime” 69-72). He explains how ever since this stuff happened to him he feels the uncontrollable urge to tell his tale to someone to ease the pain that the