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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Part I
Elements of Romanticism
Hubris, Punishment, Penance, Redemption
- Theory of the Sublime
- Out at sea in the middle of a storm provokes Sublime terror in the face of a massive and uncontrollable event
- Adam and Eve brought evil into the world because of hubris, a sin in Christianity.
- Nature's power; serves as a teacher/omen
- The arctic storm
- The Albatross
- The Mariner's pride, ignorance, and lack of foresight impelled him to shoot the albatross; his action caused bad fortune among the sailors.
- "-- With my crossbow, I shot the ALBATROSS." (Lines 81-82)
- Exploration of human life and the mystery of individual experience
- Motive for killing the Albatross is under speculation
Summary
At the commencement of the poem, an elderly veteran mariner detains a young man perambulating to a wedding and allies with his fate by dictating a tale of his sea exploits.
Summary cont.
Tossing the ship about the waves' contour, a violent gale coerces the vessel to the Southern Ocean. Amidst the terrifying cracks of icebergs, the ship enters the sublime. As the pilot navigates the ship through such perilous pointed obstacles near Cape Horn, the crew becomes depressed from dismal fog. Soon after the arrival and frolicking of an albatross on their ship lightens the mood, the mariner impulsively slaughters the good omen with an arrow from his crossbow.
Poetic Devices
Enthralled by the seaman's eye and story but distraught about missing the marriage proceedings, the wedding guest lingers to hear how the mariner and his crewmen sailed through favorable weather down the Atlantic Ocean to the equator.
Allegorical/Archetypal Elements
Imagery
Personification
- "He holds him with his glittering eye" (Line 13)
- "The Sun came up upon the left, / Out of the sea came he!" (25-26)
- "And now the STORM-BLAST came, and he / Was tyrannous an strong: / He struck with his o'ertaking wings, / And chased us south along." (41-44)
- "The ice was all around: / It cracked and growled, and roared and howled, / Like noises in a swound!" (60-62)
Archetypal Elements
- In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud, / It perched for vespers nine; / Whiles all the night, through fog-smoke white, / Glimmered the white Moonshine." (75-78)
Allegorical Elements
- Idea of passing down tales orally
- Shooting the albatross, the Ancient Mariner exemplifies Adam and Eve eating the apple
- Story of wisdom
- Voluntary actions
- Impulsive actions resulted in consequences
Poem's Theme
Although impulsive actions rarely incur immediate strife, negative consequences slowly emerge and grow in severity.
Illustration:
https://www.chess.com/live/game/1791520745