The Bird Around Your Neck
(A Discussion on the Themes of Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner) Everywhere you look, there’s shows, movies, and books that center on the supernatural. “Paranormal and supernatural entertainment has gained significant traction in recent years as it offers a unique opportunity for us to escape our daily lives” (Parmar). The public is transfixed by the idea of the unexplainable, the frightening, and the mysterious. Where does this fascination stem from? For many scholars, the answer is Samuel Coleridge. His poems, usually based off of his own dreams, stretch the imagination, transporting the reader into worlds of wild fantasy and fright. However, these works are much more than simple stories- many convey incredibly relevant messages that tend to get lost in the twenty-first century adaptations. Coleridge's haunting tale Rime of the Ancient Mariner explores the ideas of remorse, the idea that every life has value, and the effects of the shift from innocence to experience. Coleridge uses very vivid imagery to convey a sense of remorse in his poem. “The Mariner faces an inner struggle over the crime he has committed, and must understand his …show more content…
When the sailor killed the albatross, he showed that he valued its life less than his own. Immediately the ship hits the doldrums, and as a result everyone else perishes. Only when the sailor shows appreciation for the other creatures of the sea is he able to escape the same fate and make his way back home. “He prayeth best, who loveth best All things both great and small; For the dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth all” (Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner). This is a statement on how humans should value all life, as it all has a purpose. “Recognising a joy implicit within natural appearances appears to mark a saving transition from ‘spectral persecution’ to a progressive penance”
(A Discussion on the Themes of Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner) Everywhere you look, there’s shows, movies, and books that center on the supernatural. “Paranormal and supernatural entertainment has gained significant traction in recent years as it offers a unique opportunity for us to escape our daily lives” (Parmar). The public is transfixed by the idea of the unexplainable, the frightening, and the mysterious. Where does this fascination stem from? For many scholars, the answer is Samuel Coleridge. His poems, usually based off of his own dreams, stretch the imagination, transporting the reader into worlds of wild fantasy and fright. However, these works are much more than simple stories- many convey incredibly relevant messages that tend to get lost in the twenty-first century adaptations. Coleridge's haunting tale Rime of the Ancient Mariner explores the ideas of remorse, the idea that every life has value, and the effects of the shift from innocence to experience. Coleridge uses very vivid imagery to convey a sense of remorse in his poem. “The Mariner faces an inner struggle over the crime he has committed, and must understand his …show more content…
When the sailor killed the albatross, he showed that he valued its life less than his own. Immediately the ship hits the doldrums, and as a result everyone else perishes. Only when the sailor shows appreciation for the other creatures of the sea is he able to escape the same fate and make his way back home. “He prayeth best, who loveth best All things both great and small; For the dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth all” (Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner). This is a statement on how humans should value all life, as it all has a purpose. “Recognising a joy implicit within natural appearances appears to mark a saving transition from ‘spectral persecution’ to a progressive penance”