I have been given an extract from the poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It belongs to Part 4 and Part 5 of the poem; it

starts from the fourth part and the fifth part begins from Oh sleep! It is a
gentle thing.
ROTAM is the longest major poem by STC. Written in 1797-8 and published
in the first edition of the Lyrical Ballads in 1798; it has become an
important landmark in the literary canon since its publication and has
contributed various phrases to common speech. In a move typical of the
Romantics, in this poem, Coleridge places the poems focus on the
protagonists empirical experience of the world, rather than on a didactic
message .The poem also typifies the Romantic fascination with liminal
spaces. Though it exemplifies the Romantic theme of the subjectivity of
experience and the importance of the individual, this poem has a loose
rhyme scheme and archaic language, which went against the Romantic
tradition of writing in contemporary, unrhymed language. This poem is a
harmonious whole; the natural, the supernatural and the human are
artistically fused. Through it, Coleridge sought to propagate the idea of
interdependence of living beings on each other, and the intimate
relationship between man and nature. Many believe that Coleridge wrote
this strange, liminal, sensually-rich poem under the influence of opium,
and that through this poem he sought redemption for his opium addiction.
I will give a brief overview of the poem. The Rime of the Ancient mariner is
an allegorical story of a mariner who, driven by an unconscious impulse
commits the dastardly deed of killing an innocent bird-the albatross whose
appearance the sailors had celebrated, hailed in Gods name and
considered auspicious. He thus sets in motion a series of dismal events, as
the spiritual world uses the natural world as a weapon to avenge the
death of the albatross. The sailors, paralysed by fear, die one by one, due
to thirst and the suns scorching heat, as the ship stops moving due to the
lack of wind. The solitary survivor- the ancient mariner, in his utter
loneliness, realises his heinous crime, and it weighs heavily on his soul. He
craves for human companionship amidst the corpses of his dead
shipmates; his only company being a plethora of abominable sea
creatures surrounding his stationery ship. He is burdened by immense
guilt, repentance and remorse. He seeks redemption, but in vain, as he is
doomed to perform penance to pay for his sin for all eternity, that is,
wandering the Earth telling people his story.
This extract brings in the whole aspect of the mariners penance,
redemption and repentance for the sin of killing Gods creation. He is all
alone on the ship, his shipmates are dead beside him, but instead of
rotting away, they glare at him with accusing eyes, curse him, but he is

unable to die and unable to pray. At this point, the mariner catches sight
of a few water snakes, Gods creations and entranced by their beauty and
brilliance he blesses them unaware. Feelings of compassion and love arise
in him and he continues to bless them. Suddenly the albatross around his
neck falls off his neck and into the water. He finally finds himself able to
pray depicting freedom from his curse and falls asleep after seven days
and seven nights of being awake. To Mary Queen the praise be given! She
sent the gentle sleep form Heaven that slid into my soul, this religious
connotation implies his state of transition to dream. He finally gets peace
after a long phase of intense distress and discomfort. He dreams that the
dry buckets on the deck fill up with dew and he awakens to falling rain. His
heart fills with joy and delight. A favourable wind starts blowing and the
sails begin to flutter. The mood slowly changes from extreme distress to
hope and optimism to intense happiness.
In this IOC, I will talk about the structure of the poem, the way Coleridge
creates rhythm in the poem, manipulates its pace, and gives it a musical
effect. I will explore the extensive use of symbolism and biblical allusions
by Coleridge that gives this poem an entirely new dimension. I will explain
how Coleridge employs various stylistic devices and imagery to set the
mood, to convey attitudes and feelings and to shape the imagination of
the readers. I will talk about the theme of redemption that is vibrant in
this poem. I will also talk about his use of language and the role of his
writing style in bringing out the essence of the poem and broadcasting his
message.
I will begin with the structure of the poem. The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner is one of the best representatives of the English ballad tradition. It
is divided into seven parts. Most of the stanzas in the poem have four
lines; several have five or six lines. In the four-line stanzas, the second
and fourth lines usually rhyme. In the five and six-line stanzas, the second
or third line usually rhymes with the final line.
I will now talk about the symbolism in this extract. To begin with, the
water-snakes are symbolic of the mariners soul, his faith. The water
snakes are also symbolic of Gods creations and thus when the mariner
blesses them and love for them awakens within him, he becomes capable
of praying. The many adjectives describing richness and beauty and the
visual and tactile imagery in Blue, glossy green, and velvet black
symbolise happiness and brightness after the dark phase the mariner and
the crew go through. Also, there is symbolism in Within the shadow of the
ship, shadow implies darkness which is symbolic of the sin committed
by him whereas the snakes were beyond the shadow implying light which
is symbolic of hope and positivity. In Sure my kind saint took pity on me,

kind saint is symbolic of his guardian angel; the mariner continues to

bless the water snakes as if the guardian angel was continuing to induce
positivity in him.
The Albatross fell off, and sank like lead in to the sea in this line, the
simile compares the albatross with lead which is heavy symbolising that
sins always bring guilt and are an extremely heavy burden to the sinner.
Also rain symbolises change for good and hope for the mariners life: only
life not life in death. My lips were wet, my throat was cold, my garments
all were dank is representative of life. His condition before the rain is
comparable to drought, drought: a condition not conducive for growth
symbolising ill fortune whereas rain radiates positivity and the hope that
something will grow awakening hope for the mariner. And still my body
drank emphasises the harshness and the immense thirst the mariner had
gone through. It also symbolises rain as a giver bringing hope for the
mariners life again. I moved and could not feel my limbs is symbolic of
how the mariner feels light headed and giddy with happiness as his
suffering comes to an end. He feels free and experiences an extreme
feeling of exuberance. Further in, I thought I had died in sleep and was a
blessed ghost, blessed ghost is symbolic of an emancipated soul: a free
soul. Lastly the wind which starts blowing by the end of the extract is
symbolic again of hope, life and optimism.
Having explained the symbolism now I will move on to explain the various
literary devices used by Coleridge. The entire extract is infused with
imagery: such as visual imagery in And when they reared, the elfish light
fell off in hoary flakes, kinaesthetic imagery such as in They moved in
tracks of shining white and in They coiled and swam, tactile imagery
such as in Blue, glossy green and velvet black and auditory imagery such
as in And soon I heard a roaring wind.
Coleridge has used literary contrast: The first stanza begins with Beyond
the shadow of the ship and the following stanza begins with Within the
shadow of the ship to underline the contrast between his condition before
and after blessing the water-snakes. Also, the third stanza of the extract is
a contrast to the negative feeling within the mariner for killing the
albatross. He realizes beauty beyond himself, he becomes one with
nature. Coleridge drives home the message that one should love and
appreciate all creatures and not be condescending towards any Gods
creation. Snakes usually represent evil; people are usually scared of
snakes, but not here: implying that no creation of God is ugly, bad or evil;
all creatures are born pure, good and beautiful. Coleridge has used a
metaphor in this extract namely They coiled and swam; and every track
was a flash of golden fire stressing on the beauty of the water-snakes.

Another literary device used by Coleridge is the alliteration of s in The

self-same moment I could pray. S is a soft sound, easy to say and flows
easily suggesting that the harsh condition was going to change, a
transition of mood was going to ensue
Coleridges distinctive use of language also draws out the substance of
the poem. Coleridge has used simple, old English and archaic language in
the poem to invoke a sort of literary timelessness. He uses archaic words
like comeanear to preserve the essence of the poem, enhancing the
effect the mood, tone and message have on the readers. He uses
punctuation to create breaks in thoughts without disrupting the flow of the
poem. He also uses punctuation to create emphasis. The use of an
exclamation mark after Oh sleep! indicates the intensity of the mariners
desire for sleep. The following line Beloved from pole to pole emphasises
that everyone on this earth desires sleep, it soothes, refreshes and
rejuvenates.
All these elements bring out the theme of redemption.
Thus in this extract, Coleridge successfully broadcasts his message
through his theme of redemption, his use of symbolism, his stylistic
devices adding flavour to poem. Later in the poem Coleridge describes
how the mariner is rescued from the sea and taken back to his homeland
where he relates his melancholy tale to people after people to reduce his
burden of guilt of killing the albatross.