Ancient Mariner Symbolism

In “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, the Mariner fails to see the beauty of nature, people, and God, and his broken relationships with each results in his feelings of unhappiness and emptiness. The Mariner shoots the Albatross, a bird that has kind intentions of befriending the Mariner and his crew. His rationalizes for himself and his crewmates that the Albatross brought fog to the ship and it would have been difficult to continue on their voyage. Truthfully, the Mariner is unthinking and does not hesitate to shoot a bird that represented love and care for others. In killing the Albatross, the Mariner is shooting his own spirit or soul because birds often symbolize freedom and spirit. The Mariner also does not see the beauty in the sea that was around him, “I looked upon the rotting sea, --And drew my eyes away;” (240-241). …show more content…
The difference is that he does not pay much attention to nature, and this defect causes him to describe the sea as “rotting”. The sea is habitually described as cool and refreshing to gaze at, but the Mariner only sees it as rotting or spoiling. This decay imagery helps to develop the idea that the Mariner’s life, much like the sea in his opinion, is rotting or spoiling because he cannot see the splendour of it. The sea is reflective of the Mariner’s image, and as he looks at it, the Mariner can see his reflection of the decaying of his life and soul. He “drew” his eyes away because he is not fascinated by nature. The word “drew” or to draw means to take away or withdraw, and S.T. Coleridge uses this word to show that the Mariner almost ‘removes’ his eyes away and is incapable of seeing nature’s magnificence. This leaves him feeling empty and unhappy because he cannot enjoy himself while he is on this oversea expedition as all nature appears disgusting to