Many seemingly minor choices have significant impacts upon those individuals which make them. In "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," the Mariner commits a seemingly minor action which has significant results. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is representative of the journey which the Mariner must undertake as a result of his action. The journey present in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" takes the Mariner from sin to punishment, to repentance, and forgiveness.
The Mariner shoots the Albatross with no motive; he does so for sport. By killing the Albatross, the Mariner commits a crime against creation as he destroys a good omen. By killing the bird, he is disrespecting all of nature and commits a sin: "all creatures great and small the lord God created them all." Since the Albatross is hailed "as if it had been a Christian soul" and the Mariner kills it with his "crossbow," there is an association of the crime with the crucifixion of Christ: "Instead of the cross, the Albatross / About my neck was hung"(ll. 141-2). As he shot the Albatross with no motive, it symbolizes the death of Christ who willingly died for mankind when he had not committed any sins. While the Mariner sins against God on the Christian level, on the metaphorical, the killing of the Albatross is a violation of the principle of cosmic love. In nature there is a moral pattern which demands that individuals respect the principle of life itself. The Mariner, "in contempt of the laws of hospitality," senselessly slays a living creature and shows man's capacity for blood-lust. The Mariner's action has important repercussions which occur. There are various repercussions of killing the Albatross. In anger, the crew forces the Mariner to wear the dead Albatross about his neck; it illustrates the burden he must suffer from killing it and acts as a sign of regret. Putting the bird around his neck shows the sailors trying to absolve themselves and make the Mariner a scapegoat figure. The Mariner claims that he is responsible for the deaths of everyone on board of the ship which he sails because he kills the Albatross which is supposed to bring them the wind they need to resume sailing. Nature herself punishes the Mariner because he kills the Albatross. Nature punishes the Mariner harshly for killing the Albatross. Nature begins to start the punishment for his crimes when there is, "Water, water, everywhere nor any drop to drink." The sun beats down on the Mariner with its rays and the Mariner feels the taunting of the endless sight of water which he cannot drink. Nature is the force that has the power to decide what is right or wrong and how to deal with the actions. The Mariner receives a sufficient punishment: "I looked upon the rotting sea, and drew my eyes away; I looked upon the rotting deck, and there the dead men lay." As all the crew members die and the Mariner lives on, the Mariner witnesses the curse in the eyes of the crew's corpses, whose last expressions remain upon their faces, for seven days and nights. As the bird falls into the water, it demonstrates the change from punishment to penance.
The Mariner shoots the Albatross with no motive; he does so for sport. By killing the Albatross, the Mariner commits a crime against creation as he destroys a good omen. By killing the bird, he is disrespecting all of nature and commits a sin: "all creatures great and small the lord God created them all." Since the Albatross is hailed "as if it had been a Christian soul" and the Mariner kills it with his "crossbow," there is an association of the crime with the crucifixion of Christ: "Instead of the cross, the Albatross / About my neck was hung"(ll. 141-2). As he shot the Albatross with no motive, it symbolizes the death of Christ who willingly died for mankind when he had not committed any sins. While the Mariner sins against God on the Christian level, on the metaphorical, the killing of the Albatross is a violation of the principle of cosmic love. In nature there is a moral pattern which demands that individuals respect the principle of life itself. The Mariner, "in contempt of the laws of hospitality," senselessly slays a living creature and shows man's capacity for blood-lust. The Mariner's action has important repercussions which occur. There are various repercussions of killing the Albatross. In anger, the crew forces the Mariner to wear the dead Albatross about his neck; it illustrates the burden he must suffer from killing it and acts as a sign of regret. Putting the bird around his neck shows the sailors trying to absolve themselves and make the Mariner a scapegoat figure. The Mariner claims that he is responsible for the deaths of everyone on board of the ship which he sails because he kills the Albatross which is supposed to bring them the wind they need to resume sailing. Nature herself punishes the Mariner because he kills the Albatross. Nature punishes the Mariner harshly for killing the Albatross. Nature begins to start the punishment for his crimes when there is, "Water, water, everywhere nor any drop to drink." The sun beats down on the Mariner with its rays and the Mariner feels the taunting of the endless sight of water which he cannot drink. Nature is the force that has the power to decide what is right or wrong and how to deal with the actions. The Mariner receives a sufficient punishment: "I looked upon the rotting sea, and drew my eyes away; I looked upon the rotting deck, and there the dead men lay." As all the crew members die and the Mariner lives on, the Mariner witnesses the curse in the eyes of the crew's corpses, whose last expressions remain upon their faces, for seven days and nights. As the bird falls into the water, it demonstrates the change from punishment to penance.
