“The Ancient Mariner” is a simple allegory of guilt and regeneration.
Topic: The Ancient Mariner
Author: Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Type of Work: Poem
Discussion Category: Broad Question
In this
segment, I’ll elaborately talk about “The Ancient Mariner” is a simple allegory
of guilt and regeneration.
Beginning with the commission of guilt, each
part tells of a new stage in the process towards regeneration and concludes
with whatever redemption is possible in this case.
The sin starts from the killing of Albatross
by the Ancient Mariner. He has committed a hellish thing that shows perversity
of will, or lack of understanding of the purpose behind the world’s creation.
The bird is hailed in God’s name ‘as if it had been a Christian soul’. It
is friendly with the Mariners. It is accepted as a welcome guest. Then almost
suddenly, but most wantonly and recklessly, it is killed. This killing is not
something trivial; it signifies the violation of the sanctified relations of
the host and the guest. It is a symbolic representation of ‘the
essential frivolity of many crimes against humanity and the ordered system of
the world’.
First, the Mariners’ shipmates don’t approve
of his action and condemn him for having killed the bird of good omen, but when
the fog clears off and the glorious sun shines in the sky, they become his
accomplices in the crime:
“Twas right, said they, such bird to slay.
That bring the fog and mist.”
That bring the fog and mist.”
It means that they judge of an action not by
an absolute standard of right and wrong but by an arbitrary criterion of its
utility to themselves. Suddenly the ship is becalmed. Bloody sun stands right
up above the mast and shines scorchingly in a hot and copper sky. The ocean
begins to rot. At night, death fires dance and water burns green, blue and
white, like a witch’s oil. The tongues of the mariners are withered at the root
because of utter drought. In an effort to throw the entire guilt on the Ancient
Mariner, they hang the dead Albatross around his neck.
With the appearance on the scene of the
phantom ship with its ghastly crew, Death, and life-in-death, the forces of
retribution are set into motion. The Mariners’ condition is metaphorically
suggested when he feels that as the ship comes closer to them. Life -in death
play at the dice. The mariner is won by life-in-death while sailors are asleep
forever. He only survives for his guilt being more serious.
Since Mariner has committed a sin against
God’s creation as well as God, he is alienated both of them-
“Alone, alone, all all alone
Alone in a wide wide sea!
And never a Saint took pity on
My soul is agony.”
Alone in a wide wide sea!
And never a Saint took pity on
My soul is agony.”
He regrets that so many beautiful men lie
dead on the deck while ‘a thousand slimy things’ live on. The
climax is reached when for seven days and seven nights, he has to face the
curse in the dead men’s eyes but he does not die. Then comes a turn for the
better. Under the light of the moon, the mariner watches the water-snakes moving in
tracks of shining white and feels fascinated with their rich attire. A spring
of love gushes from his heart and he blesses them unawares. Immediately he is
able to pray and the albatross falls into the sea. This marks a partial revival.
From here, the process of regeneration
continues. The mariner is able to sleep, and when he gets up long-awaited rain
brings him comfort and freshness. Now, no longer his heart is dry as dust, this
feeling of freshness is quite inevitable. There is a commotion in the sky and a
strong wind begins to blow. The ship begins to move with the roaring sound of
the wind though it is not touched by it. If the wind is taken as a symbol of
the onward flow of life, it may be a sign of partial recovery. A troop of
celestial spirits stand by the bodies of the dead men and begin to work on the
ropes. They pull at one rope but not even a single word is exchanged between
them. The mariner is no longer alone, but the company he has got is still
terrifying. Then he hears heavenly music in the air and is comforted by it.
The mariner reaches back his own country. He
meets holy hermit, confesses his guilt and is shriven and restored to a place
among living men. The memory of hideous act he once committed becomes so
insistent at times that he is forced to give utterance to it. This brings him
relief. In that way, he is regenerated.
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