Poetry is often written with some hidden meaning within the poems themselves, this meaning often coming in multiple layers of depth, in order to suggest or prompt an ideology, value, or action to an audience. Such cases often being seen in English Romantic Period poems and novels; these works of literature often having themes about the power and beauty of nature and how humans are just a small part of a bigger picture created by god. Though some authors take it to a step beyond such themes; an example of this being Samuel Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, which presents a morality tale about being subservient to nature and having self-restraint, but there is also a darker more malevolent plot surrounding the consumption of a man
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Gothic demonology has a tenant that demons attach themselves to the weak and needy, they can invade and harbor themselves inside a person, feeding off their negative energy, making that person’s life and choices worse altogether, giving off more negative energy, causing more bad actions and so on, a cycle that keeps repeating until the afflicted fixes their issue themselves. Once done the demon is expulsed and the person is free to be happy again. This is the case of the Mariner, for the teasing of seeing the albatross is the demon trying to wear him down until he finally gives in and kills the albatross, at that point the demon is able to invade and slowly make the life of the Mariner worse, as seen by all the horrid things the mariner would have to face in the rest of the poem. Eventually though the Mariner is freed from the albatross, as seen at the end of part four and beginning of part 5 where it is stated, “And from my neck so free / The Albatross fell off, and sank / Like lead into the sea. / Oh sleep! it is a gentle thing, / Beloved from pole to pole! / To Mary Queen the praise be given!” (Coleridge 289-296). This is important because after the Mariner accepts the issue in his head as fixed, the problems and plague of the demon are resolved and he is able to achieve happiness and joy in life once more, as exemplified by sleep, for the weight of the issue and the stress of the demon were so much on him he could not even partake in normal novelties like sleep, but as soon as the demon had left he was able to sleep again and life for him was once again filled with joy. This series of events being parallel with
Gothic demonology has a tenant that demons attach themselves to the weak and needy, they can invade and harbor themselves inside a person, feeding off their negative energy, making that person’s life and choices worse altogether, giving off more negative energy, causing more bad actions and so on, a cycle that keeps repeating until the afflicted fixes their issue themselves. Once done the demon is expulsed and the person is free to be happy again. This is the case of the Mariner, for the teasing of seeing the albatross is the demon trying to wear him down until he finally gives in and kills the albatross, at that point the demon is able to invade and slowly make the life of the Mariner worse, as seen by all the horrid things the mariner would have to face in the rest of the poem. Eventually though the Mariner is freed from the albatross, as seen at the end of part four and beginning of part 5 where it is stated, “And from my neck so free / The Albatross fell off, and sank / Like lead into the sea. / Oh sleep! it is a gentle thing, / Beloved from pole to pole! / To Mary Queen the praise be given!” (Coleridge 289-296). This is important because after the Mariner accepts the issue in his head as fixed, the problems and plague of the demon are resolved and he is able to achieve happiness and joy in life once more, as exemplified by sleep, for the weight of the issue and the stress of the demon were so much on him he could not even partake in normal novelties like sleep, but as soon as the demon had left he was able to sleep again and life for him was once again filled with joy. This series of events being parallel with