“The Rime if the Ancient Mariner”, written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is filled with symbolism of the romantic period. His use of symbolism throughout the poem helps exemplify Western thought during the Enlightenment.
One of the first and most prominent symbols that we see is the Albatross. The plot of the poem feeds off the inclusion of the Albatross. For example, The Albatross represents nature and life, which, was being denied during the Romantic period, “At length did cross an Albatross, thorough the fog it came; As it had been a Christian soul we hailed it in God’s name” . The Albatross sends good vibes by helping them get through the icy world, however, it brings a strange murky fog which follows the ship. This fog can be connected with the idea the realism continues to lurk over the West during this time, depriving them from the freedoms of life. The Albatross plays with the sailors and also eats their food which can be symbolic for how deprived people were during this time, “It ate the food it ne’er had eat, and round and round it flew...And every day, for food or play”. For example, factory workers were given jobs, however, they were making very little to no money so it was almost like a tease to these workers. Much like in these people’s real lives, even though they had jobs, they often didn’t have enough money to put food on the table. So even though the Albatross symbolizes nature, which the romantics wished to incorporate into their every day lives, it may only be possible to imagine such a thing, because in reality, just like the fog, reality lurks over them.
When the Mariner shoots the bird, he automatically feels an overwhelming feeling of guilt, “And I had done a hellish thing, And it would work ‘em woe: For all averred, I had killed the bird”. Much how one might feel if they cut nature and religion out of their lives. The bird’s corpse lays around the Mariner’s neck, and only removes itself when he is able to accept nature and faith. So, even though the Mariner is alive, without the beauty of nature and prayer in one’s life, their soul is “dead”.
The sailors, who were originally freed by the Albatross being to die slowly after the Mariner kills the bird, which represents nature. Symbolically, this means that once the sailors refused nature in their lives, their souls slowly began to depreciate, “There passed a weary time. Each throat was parched, and glazed each eye”. Many say that “eyes are the windows to the soul” and here, we see the sailors had “glazed” over eyes, yet again symbolizing their loss of soul and life.
Soon after, The Mariner meets a Hermit, who is a Holy man who prays and practices religion daily. He lives a simple life , in the woods, yet “loves to talk with Mariners-that come from a far country” which represents his sense of imagination. The Hermit allows himself to imagine where the Mariners come from, and accepts the use of vivid imagination. The Hermit forgives the Mariner of his sins, “It is the Hermit good! He singeth loud his godly hymns-that he makes in the wood. He’ll shrive my soul, he’ll wash away-The Albatross’s blood”. The Hermit represents a godly figure, who can give reconciliation to the Mariner.
This is a tall tale, which almost seem fairytale like, which was rejected by many realists during the Enlightenment. Here, Coleridge tries to tell those of the Enlightenment to trust in nature and religion, because without it one remains lifeless. He encourages those to use their imaginations, like the wedding guest for example. The wedding guest claims that he is “afraid of the Mariner”, which represents how those become fearful of the imagination. However, the Mariner assures him that there is nothing to be afraid of, and to accept this phenomena as a gateway to ones happiness.
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