Summary
Summary A basic understanding to Rime of the Ancient Mariner
- Course
- Institution
An introductory document to any individual studying Samuel Coleridge's poem 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner.'
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
jodiekelly
Reviews received
Content preview
Rime of The Ancient Mariner.Perspective and Narrator
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner has two levels of narrative: it is a story within a story. The
narrator uses a third-person limited voice. This narrator knows the thoughts of the Wedding
Guest but not of the Mariner. However, the Wedding Guest is only present at the beginning and
end of the poem for the most part.
Tense
Both the present and past tense is used in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
About the Title
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a rime, an alternate spelling of rhyme, told by an old sailor,
or a mariner. The ancientness of his status suggests a kind of eternal wisdom, as if the Mariner
has something to share with readers. However, rime can also mean "frost," an icy substance
that can form on sails and ships. Antarctica, one of the locations detailed in the poem, also
evokes this frosty image. The Mariner, too, is often described with frost imagery.
Coleridge was one of the founders of the Romantic movement in the 18th century. The
Romantics valued natural speech, simple themes, the beauty of nature, emotion, and abstract
thought. Coleridge was known as a poet of great imagination for his works “The Rime of the
Ancient Mariner” and “Kubla Khan” (1816)
The Romantic Movement
The Romantic period in English literature spans the latter part of the 18th century and the
beginning of the 19th century. Characterized by individual thought and personal feeling, the
Romantics wrote about their own unique experiences, expressing their work through the lens of
their own particularly intense emotional response to something (usually something in nature).
While the Neoclassical period imitated the style of the Greeks and Romans, focusing on
formality and artificiality, the Romantics believed that poetry should no longer focus on strict
architecture but rather strive to be more organic in nature. Coleridge's descriptions of the ice,
the storms, and the sea serpents in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner are beautiful and powerful
verbal depictions of the beauty of the natural world.
Another hallmark of the Romantic period was a focus on imagination, led by Samuel Taylor
Coleridge who viewed it as the supreme poetic quality. The Romantics and their works
expressed a newfound interest in the workings of the human unconscious, dreams, visions, and
the supernatural. Coleridge's Kubla Khan—a dream poem reportedly composed under the
effects of opium—and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner with its focus on the supernatural events
and visions plaguing the Mariner, are examples of these ideas.
This change in subject matter signaled another change, this time in the use of language and
expression. Gone was the stilted diction of the Neoclassical poets of earlier centuries, where
order, accuracy, and structure were the general rule. The stale language and elite subject matter
were not relevant to everyday folk. Wordsworth especially believed that poetry should be
, composed in the type of language spoken by ordinary people. This concept ties in with the more
organic view of poetic composition. We see this change present in Coleridge's work: in The
Rime of the Ancient Mariner he chooses to compose a ballad—a folk song more common to the
medieval period—and in Kubla Khan he indulges in a fanciful dream narrative.
Religion and Coleridge
Coleridge wrote numerous works on religion throughout his career. When he returned to the
Church of England, the state church of England, in the early 1800s, he continued writing his
essays, composing some of his most significant religious essays during this time.
Coleridge believed that prayer was the pinnacle of what the human heart could express. Thus
prayer plays an important part in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. For the Mariner to be
deprived of the ability to pray is something that Coleridge considered horrifying. The Mariner is
unable to reach God until he can accept nature's place under God's umbrella. Coleridge
considered his worship of the natural world as a way of gaining a more profound relationship
with God, something the Mariner cannot experience until he accepts all of the creatures of Earth
as being part of the Creator.
The Wedding Guest also serves as a reminder of the power of religion. He wants to go in and
enjoy the celebration and is less interested in the actual exchange of the marriage vows. A
wedding mirrored Christ's relationship with the Church, and the ceremony and vows are meant
to have the participants (bride and groom as well as those witnessing the event) form a closer
bond to God. If the Wedding Guest is only focused on the merrymaking, he has missed the point
of the service. The Mariner's tale serves as the Wedding Guest's touchstone to a deeper
understanding of the Divine. The story the Mariner tells, and the admonition at the end of it,
result in an awakening within the Wedding Guest, imparting a wisdom that wasn't present
before. The Wedding Guest sees that not only are people connected but also every living thing:
"He prayeth best, who loveth best / All things both great and small; / For the dear God who
loveth us / He made and loveth all." The Wedding Guest sacrificed his selfish pleasures to think
of the Mariner's final words to him.
Finally, there is the Albatross. It is nearly impossible to categorize, though many have argued a
Christlike symbolism with regard to its death and the mark of sin that the Mariner carries when it
is draped around his neck. However, the Albatross defies interpretation, much as God and
nature do. They are all beyond the comprehension of mankind, and each time man (the crew,
the Mariner) attempt to classify the Albatross, something terrible happens. The Albatross, like
nature—and therefore God—are meant to remain unknowable.
Nested Narratives
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is an example of a frame story. There is more than one
"narrator" involved in the poem: the speaker who tells of the Mariner stopping the Wedding
Guest and his reaction and the Mariner who tells his tale. The frame story allows readers to
experience the Mariner's tale and to witness the Wedding Guest's response to it. Readers are
privy to both stories. This is key to understanding why Coleridge has the Mariner tell his story to
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller jodiekelly. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $7.03. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
48298 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 15 years now