Repentance and the Albatross
Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s 1798 classic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a tale of an ancient mariner sharing his story with a young guest at a wedding. Coleridge uses the mariner’s fable to teach his readers valuable lessons on topics ranging from having respect for God’s creatures to acknowledging the consequences of an action before acting. In The Rime of an Ancient Mariner, Coleridge specifically uses the symbolism of the albatross to teach his readers about the ever so important process of whole-hearted repentance. At the end of act one, the mariner himself commits a ridiculous sin, or immoral act against divine law, against a harmless bird, a situation that widely symbolizes the everyday sins that people …show more content…
At the end of act four, the ancient mariner comes to realize, appreciate and admire the beauty of gods’ creations and the reader sees his heart change. He then blessed them in prayer. “The selfsame moment I could pray;/ And from my neck so free/ The Albatross fell off, and sank/ Like lead into the sea.” (289-293). To be able to rid themselves of their “albatross”, a sinner must have a change of heart towards the sin they committed and demonstrate that they won’t make the same mistake again. The mariner does this, he is forgiven, and watches the albatross sink into the sea. The relief that the ancient mariner must have felt as the 20-pound colossal bird finally was released from his neck after days of extreme discomfort must have been immense, but it applies only emotionally to other people. Not only did the bird just fall off into the water, but it sank like lead into the sea. The symbolism of the albatross that Coleridge uses here shows that any sin can be forgiven when the sinner has a real change of heart; and that weight they have hanging around their neck will not only leave them, but will disappear completely. Coleridge tells his readers that if they are now holding a large weight of a personal albatross, they can have a change of heart and it will fall off, completely disappearing out of their
Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s 1798 classic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a tale of an ancient mariner sharing his story with a young guest at a wedding. Coleridge uses the mariner’s fable to teach his readers valuable lessons on topics ranging from having respect for God’s creatures to acknowledging the consequences of an action before acting. In The Rime of an Ancient Mariner, Coleridge specifically uses the symbolism of the albatross to teach his readers about the ever so important process of whole-hearted repentance. At the end of act one, the mariner himself commits a ridiculous sin, or immoral act against divine law, against a harmless bird, a situation that widely symbolizes the everyday sins that people …show more content…
At the end of act four, the ancient mariner comes to realize, appreciate and admire the beauty of gods’ creations and the reader sees his heart change. He then blessed them in prayer. “The selfsame moment I could pray;/ And from my neck so free/ The Albatross fell off, and sank/ Like lead into the sea.” (289-293). To be able to rid themselves of their “albatross”, a sinner must have a change of heart towards the sin they committed and demonstrate that they won’t make the same mistake again. The mariner does this, he is forgiven, and watches the albatross sink into the sea. The relief that the ancient mariner must have felt as the 20-pound colossal bird finally was released from his neck after days of extreme discomfort must have been immense, but it applies only emotionally to other people. Not only did the bird just fall off into the water, but it sank like lead into the sea. The symbolism of the albatross that Coleridge uses here shows that any sin can be forgiven when the sinner has a real change of heart; and that weight they have hanging around their neck will not only leave them, but will disappear completely. Coleridge tells his readers that if they are now holding a large weight of a personal albatross, they can have a change of heart and it will fall off, completely disappearing out of their