The “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1798)

  1. Who or what is responsible for the curse against the Mariner?
  2. Why does the Mariner get to survive to voyage when all the sailors die? After all, he was the one who shot the albatross?
  3. What does "Life-in-Death" represent, and what is the result of her winning the dice match with Death?
  4. Drum roll, please (Dadadada…). What does the albatross symbolize, and why does the Mariner decide to kill it?
  5. Does this seem like a religious or specifically Christian poem? Does it change your perspective at all to learn that Coleridge was considered by many to have radical, free-thinking tendencies?
  6. Why do you think this poem has become so famous and influential? Does the poem seem ahead of its time, or does it seem quaint and old-fashioned?

The Supernatural

The “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is Exhibit A for evidence of Coleridge's wild imagination, which was helped along by a moderate-to-heavy opium usage. He takes bits and pieces of mythology and symbolism from Greek and Roman myth and Christian scripture and manufactures a modern ghost-and-zombie story complete with visits from Death and his grisly accomplice, Life-and-Death. The power of supernatural forces over the ship and its crew helps to make the Mariner's own feebleness clear. The supernatural is often related to meteorological (weather) and astrological events in this poem.

  1. What can't the Wedding Guest get away from the Mariner's clutches? Does the Mariner have special powers?
  2. How many different supernatural forces does the poem contain? Where do you think Coleridge got the idea for these forces?
  3. Was a spirit responsible for initially chasing the ship down near the Arctic, or was that just a regular old storm? Why does the albatross show up?
  4. What is the narrative and thematic purpose of the dice game between Death and Life-in-Death?

Transformation

The “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” goes through several important transformations at key points, like after the Mariner shoots the albatross, but the most important transformation is the Mariner's conversion from prideful jerk who hates large birds to pious soul who can pray for even the ugliest creatures. The albatross that hangs around his neck represents the burden of his sins, which fall away when he repents and blesses the sea snakes. However, he hasn't simply wiped away his evil deeds after this transformation. His penance continues throughout the rest of his life, every time he feels the painful urge to tell his story.

  1. What brings about the Mariner's sudden change of heart toward the hideous sea snakes?
  2. Who do you think the two "voices" in Part VI represent? Do they stand for specific people or ideas?
  3. What kinds of transformations does the moon undergo in the poem, and how do they relate to the Mariner's condition.
  4. Why is the Wedding Guest a "sadder and wiser" man at the end of the poem? Do you think he was affected by the Mariner's moral ("he prayeth well who loveth well"), or just by the story as a whole?

Suffering

Suffering is sometimes the only way to change someone's habits for good, and it takes a whole lot of this painful medicine in The “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” to make the Mariner realize that all of nature's creations are worthy of love and respect. The entire poem, but especially the middle section concerning the drought, contains enough suffering to last several lifetimes. Our vote for the most cringe-worthy moment is when the Mariner has to bite his arm to wet his black lips with his own blood so that he can yell.

  1. What is the worst punishment that the Mariner must suffer in the poem?
  2. Why does the crew get killed but not the Mariner, who shot the bird? Is their fate worse than his?
  3. What does the second voice mean by saying, "The man hath penance done, and penance more will do" (V.92)? What kind of penance does the Mariner perform in the poem?
  4. Why does the Mariner feel the sudden urge to tell his story to other people? Does he continue to suffer in this way?

Pride

In Christian writings, pride is one of the most basic and important sins, the one has been getting humans in hot water ever since Adam and Eve. As the proverb says, pride goeth before the fall. While it's not clear exactly why the Mariner shoots the albatross in The “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, the answer has something to do with pride. He obviously didn't intend to bring about drought and death to the crew, but he thought they could do without this bird whose arrival happened to coincide with a lot of good luck. The poem takes elements from the stories of Adam and Eve and the crucifixion of Christ and weaves them into an entirely original take on man's pride.

  1. Is pride the sin that causes the downfall of the Mariner? Do you see any evidence of it in his actions?
  2. Do you think the ship's crew is guilty of the sin of pride?
  3. How does shooting the albatross compare with the story of Adam and Eve eating the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden? (See Genesis 2 and 3.) Why was eating the fruit considered prideful?
  4. Is the albatross meant to be a specifically Christian symbol?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

The “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” retells the central stories of the Book of Genesis and the New Testament: the fall of Adam and Eve and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
The dice game between Death and Life-and-Death is an appropriate part of the Mariner's punishment because, when he killed the albatross, he expressed a belief that the world is guided by luck and chaos.

Isolation

The Mariner in The “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” seems to have been a pretty sociable guy before he took that fateful trip down to the Arctic, but now he travels the country looking for former lost souls like himself. His best friend in the poem is a hermit, if that tells you anything. After the experience he has been through, he can't just return to normal society. The idea of going to a wedding is very distasteful to him, for example. The low point of the story he tells is when he is left the only man standing on the ship and must suffer the cursing stares of all the dead men.

  1. How would you characterize the symbol of "Life-in-Death"? Why is she described the way she is?
  2. How does the Mariner know that his crewmates are cursing him? What form does this curse take?
  3. Why is he so happy to see the hermit at the end of his voyage?
  4. How does the Mariner know to whom to tell his stories? Why does he pick out the Wedding Guest?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

The Wedding Guest becomes a "wiser" man at the end of the poem because he recognizes that the story is a metaphor for his own condition.
The Mariner's disdain for appropriate social celebrations like the wedding feast shows that he has not fully overcome his pride. He remains a "devil" of sorts.