coleridge poem the rime of the ancient mariner

It was also considered pure evil to kill one. The mythology behind the albatross is that it is a bad omen and that if it circles a ship then bad weather will follow. Nature even sent the albatross, which is considered to be a very supernatural and paranormal creature, to watch over them. In Part 1, nature is supporting man’s journey and helping them with the wind blowing them in their correct direction and with the sun shining. The main source of the supernatural is in the use of nature and how it interacts with man. This helps as the mariner could be part of the gothic and other-worldly and was sent to the wedding guest as an omen in itself and to warn others when they set sail in the future. The line and title finish with the words “ancient Mariner” so it confirms that the mariner is they key focus and main source of all the drama and mystery to follow but by calling him “it”, it leaves the audience wondering whether he is alive or just an apparition. It allows us to understand that it is in third person but as we do not know who’s talking, it adds to the mystery to the poem leaving the audience mystified from the word go. At the start of the poem, the first words used are “It is”. Also, if the poem was too immersed in the supernatural then it would be completely unbelievable. The wedding quest allows us to have this reprieve as he is questioning the mariner and keeping the reader grounded by answering some questions they may have through the wedding guest. As the poem is so encased in the other-worldly, we need the grounding of reality to try and collect their thoughts.

The poem meddles and swarms in the supernatural and the gothic which adds to the tension and questions surrounding the poem.

It is about a Mariner who stops one of three wedding guests and tells him a story of when he set sail and all that happens. The ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ is a poem from the Romantics period in literature and is written by Coleridge who collaborated with Wordsworth on the ‘Lyrical Ballads’.

Coleridge poem the rime of the ancient mariner