The Importance Of Nature In Rime Of The Ancient Mariner By William Wordsworth

The two poems “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and “Nutting” by William Wordsworth, view nature as the sole importance of life. John Beer concluded that for Coleridge and Wordsworth, writing poetry about nature “seemed an entirely benevolent presence” (Beer 8). Throughout both poems, the speaker suggests to the reader the importance of nature. In different ways, each poem views the beauty and innocence of nature without human interaction and the lack of aesthetic pleasantry with human interaction. In turn, there is a subliminal message to the readers, warning them not to disturb nature when it is in its purest form. Coleridge conveys this message through the personification of nature and the symbolism of animals, …show more content…
In the beginning, the mariner views nature as unimportant or not useful. For example, when the Albatross comes to guide the wrecked ship back to land, he kills the bird, “With my cross-bow, I shot the Albatross” (Coleridge line 81). The albatross is symbolic because it represents the innocence and beauty of nature. As a result of murdering the albatross, the mariner is cursed and forced to recognize the delicacy of nature. However, the mariner proceeded to view other animals such as sea creatures as “slimy things… upon a slimy sea” (Coleridge line 125-126). As a result, the mariner ran out of water, his crew of two hundred men die, and he was unable to die or pray, but after reaching rock bottom, something in him changed. The mariner began to look at the sea creatures as appealing, “Their beauty might declare: A spring of love gushed from my heart, And I blessed them unaware” (Coleridge line 283-285). The curse helped the mariner change his perspective of nature. However, the eternal result of the curse requires the mariner to warn other people, with a similar mindset to his in the beginning, about disturbing nature and preserving the purity of it. The parental guidance the sun and moon brought to the mariner helped change him negative mindset of nature into a positive one. Therefore, the overall purpose …show more content…
Coleridge warns people about nature through the symbolism of animals and the personification of nature without bluntly stating it. Meanwhile, Wordsworth advises people not to destroy the beauty of nature by using virgin imagery and rape imagery to show the impact before and after human interference. Overall, throughout both poems the speaker advises to the reader that nature will never be the same once toiled with by humans and to be careful of the disturbance they