FREE ESSAY ON SAMUEL COLERIDGE

SAMUEL COLERIDGE

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
In Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the author uses the
story of a sailor and his adventures to reveal aspects of life. This tale follows the
Mariner and his crew as they travel between the equator and the south pole, and then back
to England. The author's use of symbolism lends the work to adults as a complex web of
representation, rather than a children's book about a sailor.
First, in the poem, the ship symbolizes the body of man. The ship experiences trials and
tribulations just as a real person does. Its carrying the Mariner (symbolizing the
individual soul) and crew shows that Coleridge saw the body as a mere vessel of the soul.
This symbol of a boat is an especially powerful one, because one steers a ship to an
extent, yet its fate lies in the hands of the winds and currents.
Secondly, the albatross symbolizes Christ. Just as the Mariner senselessly slays the
bird, man crucifies Christ whose perfection is unchallenged. Even though Christ
represents mankind's one chance at achieving Heaven, man continues to persecute Him. The
albatross symbolizes the sailors' one chance at deliverance from icy death and the
Mariner shoots him.
Thirdly, the South Pole symbolizes Hell. No visible wind blows the unfortunate crew
toward the South Pole. Rather, an unseen force pulls them there. Such is the case when
the world's temptations lure one to Hell. Just as the sailors approach far to close to
this icy purgatory, their Redeemer, the albatross, or at least his spirit, leads them
safely back in the right direction.
Fourthly, in the poem England symbolizes Heaven. When the Mariner first sees his country,
a great sense of hope and joy overcome him. At the point when the Mariner is about to
enter Heaven, the body, symbolized by the ship, must die. For this reason, the ship
sinks. When the Pilot and his boy see the ship sinking, they go to retrieve the Mariner,
just as angels retrieve a newly departed soul and carry it to Heaven.
In conclusion, without the intricate symbolism presented in Rime of the Ancient Mariner,
one is left with a meaningless children's story. By representing the aspects of salvation
with concepts of the sea, Coleridge makes his message of repentance and humility easier
to understand.