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Poem-The Rime of the Ancient Mariner


POEM - THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER

Poet: Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Type: Narrative Poem (Ballad Form)

Published: 1798 in Lyrical Ballads (with William Wordsworth)

🌊 Overview

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a long narrative poem that tells the strange and moral story of an old sailor (the Mariner) who stops a wedding guest to tell him about his terrifying sea voyage. The poem blends supernatural elements with deep moral and spiritual lessons about sin, guilt, punishment, and redemption.

⚓ Summary (Act-by-Act Style)

Part I: The Sin

The Mariner stops one of three wedding guests and begins his tale.

His ship sets sail happily, but soon, he kills an innocent Albatross, a bird considered a good omen.

The crew initially condemns him for this act.

Part II: The Punishment Begins

After the killing, the weather turns hostile; the ship is stuck in a silent sea (“Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink”).

The crew suffers from thirst and blames the Mariner, hanging the dead Albatross around his neck as punishment.

Part III: The Supernatural Curse

A ghostly ship approaches carrying Death and Life-in-Death.

Death wins the crew, and they all die. The Mariner alone lives — cursed to suffer spiritual agony.


Part IV: Realization and Repentance

Surrounded by the corpses of his crewmates, the Mariner realizes the beauty of God’s creations when he blesses the sea creatures “unaware.”

The Albatross falls from his neck, symbolizing the lifting of his guilt.


Part V–VII: Redemption and Moral

The Mariner prays sincerely and is spiritually reborn.

He returns home but must wander the earth, telling his story to teach others the sanctity of all life.

The wedding guest, moved and wiser, leaves “a sadder and a wiser man.”


💫 Themes

Sin and Redemption: Killing the Albatross represents sin; repentance leads to salvation.

Man and Nature: The poem teaches reverence for all living things as creations of God.

Supernatural and Moral Consequence: The ghostly elements show how moral law governs the universe.

Isolation and Guilt: The Mariner’s loneliness mirrors his spiritual suffering.


✨ Moral / Message

Coleridge teaches that every living being is part of God’s creation, and one must love and respect all forms of life. True repentance and love can redeem even the greatest sin.

The language of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is rich, imaginative English, specifically embodying the Romantic era's style with its focus on everyday speech mixed with archaic terms, vivid imagery, symbolism (like the albatross), supernatural elements, and musicality through ballads, alliteration, and strong rhythms (iambic feet) to create a dream-like, profound narrative about sin, guilt, and redemption. 

Key Aspects of the Language:

Romanticism: It uses natural imagery (sea, ice, sun, moon) and strong emotions, common in the Romantic movement.

Ballad Form: Structured like a folk ballad, with simple, repeating quatrains (four-line stanzas) for storytelling.

Archaic & Common Words: Blends older, less common words with simpler language, making it accessible yet timeless.

Figurative Language: Extensive use of metaphors (death-fire), similes (water like a witch's oil), personification (sun rising), and oxymorons (dismal sheen).

Sound Devices: Features alliteration ("death-fires danced"), internal rhyme, and strong rhythm (iambic meter) for musicality.

Symbolism: The albatross, water, and the albatross around the neck are powerful symbols of guilt and connection to nature. 

In essence, Coleridge crafted a unique poetic language that feels both ancient and immediate, using traditional forms to explore deep human themes. 

Its linguistic style is characterized by the following:

Archaic Vocabulary: Coleridge used old-fashioned words and spellings (like "ancyent," "eftsoons," and "hollo") to give the poem a timeless, legendary, or medieval feel.

Simple Diction: Despite the archaisms, the overall language remains relatively simple, following the ballad tradition of narrative storytelling.

Ballad Form: The poem is written in a song-like rhythm, typically using iambic tetrameter (four stressed syllables) for odd lines and iambic trimeter (three stressed syllables) for even lines.

Literary Devices: The language relies heavily on repetition, alliteration, and vivid imagery to create a haunting and supernatural atmosphere.

The Gloss: In the 1817 revised version, Coleridge added marginal notes (the "gloss") written in a similarly archaic prose style to explain and summarize the poetic text. 


















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