-
Essay / Review of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Poem, The Rime of The Ancient Mariner
Poem AnalysisTo begin with, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a beautifully constructed poem. His ability to use imagery as well as other literary devices gives the reader a very clear view of the story that is unfolding. I really enjoyed the way physical nature was used throughout the poem, and especially how it was controlled by spiritual nature. It was evident that a greater force was controlling the weather, perhaps a lurking spirit, and this spirit is responsible for both the agony and the fortune the sailors experience. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay For example, the spirit's ability to guide the ship through the times when sailors treated the albatross with kindness and respect is symbolic of the existence of the spiritual world. capable of controlling the physical world. And this is precisely what I believe the poem is about. This is a very unique way to express one's belief in another force that we humans cannot recognize with the naked eye. I also assume that the ancient sailor learned a very valuable lesson by killing the albatross. We show him that we must respect the environment around us. Whether it is animals, plants, or any other element of physical nature that we are accustomed to, we must learn to coexist and respect one another. The Ancient Mariner exhibits both behaviors throughout the poem. First, when he and his fellow sailors reach the frost, they meet the albatross and treat it with extreme kindness. They feed him, play with him and treat him as if he were one of them. By interacting with the albatross in this way, the ancient sailor and the ship experience great fortune. They are suddenly granted a path through which they can sail due to the previously lacking wind pushing the ship through the frost. Alternatively, when the former sailor kills the albatross and mistreats him, he begins to experience misfortune in the form of his other sailors dying, leaving him feeling responsible for their deaths. Therefore, the ancient sailor should have understood through these two examples that if he wants luck and "help" from the surrounding spirits, then he must treat his surroundings with respect, as if they were another human being. An image that I thought was very powerful comes at the end of Part Three when the Ancient Mariner exclaims that “every soul, it has passed me by, Like the whistle of my crossbow!” ". I feel like this gives the reader a great insight into what the ancient sailor was feeling at that moment. Remorse and regret, among other things, are what is plaguing his mind at this very moment and this image does an impressive job of painting a picture for the reader. In saying this, it should be obvious that the sense at play here is sight. By describing the souls as passing like the whistle of his crossbow, he indicates to the reader that they were moving past him at a rapid pace. This description also demonstrates his remorse since the sailors were dead and their souls were wandering, because the ancient sailor had killed the albatross with his crossbow. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized paper now from our expert writers. Get a custom essayConclusionFinally, I believe the poem is titled this way for literal reasons as well as more ambiguous reasons. Rhyme as a literal term appears throughout the poem as a sort of blockage for the ship and its inclusion in the title would therefore..