Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner portrays the image of salvation by describing the stages of penance, regret, and redemption he experiences on his attempt to reaching salvation. Yet it is still not clear whether or not the Mariner has essentially attained salvation because he feels as though he is spiritually forced to retell his story repeatedly. This obscurity develops the idea of the Mariner being incapable of reaching salvation unless his dreaded tale is told to as many people as possible.
The protagonist in this poem must commit a sin in order to embark on the journey to redemption. In this case, the sin was considered to be the murder of the Albatross by the hands of the Mariner. This harsh action is expressed …show more content…
“For all averred, I had killed the bird That made the breeze to blow. Ah wretch! said they, the bird to slay, That made the breeze to blow!” (Lines: 93-96). As the fog clears and the sun shines, the shipmates praise the Mariner for taking the life of the Albatross assuming the bird had some sort of influence on the weather. “Then all averred, I had killed the bird That brought the fog and the mist. ’Twas right said they, such birds to slay, That bring the fog and mist.” (Lines: 99-102). The shift in the shipmates’ perception of the death of the Albatross as a sin, to rather praising the old man for his actions. Thus, it obligates the numerous men to punishment as well for justifying the Mariner’s sin. With the intent to place the guilt on the Mariner himself, the shipmates order him to wear the lifeless body of the Albatross around his neck as a form of symbolic punishment, with which his wrongdoing is promulgated. Coleridge hints the first stages of salvation here; seeing as the penalty the Mariner is faced with is comparable to an act of penance. This is proven furthermore when the non-remorseful shipmates are killed one by one, leaving only the Mariner alive as he repents his …show more content…
This new perception of nature exempts him from the given punishment as the Albatross drops from his neck and is engulfed by the waves. “The Albatross fell off, and sank Like lead into the sea.” (Lines: 290-291). Coleridge utilizes this representation as a symbol to imply the Mariner’s newly discovered redemption within nature. He is able to perform tasks such as sleeping and drinking once again, which he wasn’t able to accomplish before as a result of his penance. Along with that, the wind conveniently picks up and aids the Mariner by setting him on the course to his destination. Once the Mariner arrives home, he searches for the holy hermit to confess his guilt in hopes of washing away the blood of the Albatross off his soul which conclusively brings him a step closer to attain his
The protagonist in this poem must commit a sin in order to embark on the journey to redemption. In this case, the sin was considered to be the murder of the Albatross by the hands of the Mariner. This harsh action is expressed …show more content…
“For all averred, I had killed the bird That made the breeze to blow. Ah wretch! said they, the bird to slay, That made the breeze to blow!” (Lines: 93-96). As the fog clears and the sun shines, the shipmates praise the Mariner for taking the life of the Albatross assuming the bird had some sort of influence on the weather. “Then all averred, I had killed the bird That brought the fog and the mist. ’Twas right said they, such birds to slay, That bring the fog and mist.” (Lines: 99-102). The shift in the shipmates’ perception of the death of the Albatross as a sin, to rather praising the old man for his actions. Thus, it obligates the numerous men to punishment as well for justifying the Mariner’s sin. With the intent to place the guilt on the Mariner himself, the shipmates order him to wear the lifeless body of the Albatross around his neck as a form of symbolic punishment, with which his wrongdoing is promulgated. Coleridge hints the first stages of salvation here; seeing as the penalty the Mariner is faced with is comparable to an act of penance. This is proven furthermore when the non-remorseful shipmates are killed one by one, leaving only the Mariner alive as he repents his …show more content…
This new perception of nature exempts him from the given punishment as the Albatross drops from his neck and is engulfed by the waves. “The Albatross fell off, and sank Like lead into the sea.” (Lines: 290-291). Coleridge utilizes this representation as a symbol to imply the Mariner’s newly discovered redemption within nature. He is able to perform tasks such as sleeping and drinking once again, which he wasn’t able to accomplish before as a result of his penance. Along with that, the wind conveniently picks up and aids the Mariner by setting him on the course to his destination. Once the Mariner arrives home, he searches for the holy hermit to confess his guilt in hopes of washing away the blood of the Albatross off his soul which conclusively brings him a step closer to attain his