As the mariner goes in search of understanding and redemption, the supernatural world clearly engulfs him. His world is based in a nightmare universe, always with elements of the realistic world present. For much of the poem, it is set in an empty ocean, the mariner adrift on a boat by himself, symbolically cut off and isolated from the rest of the world and human companionship. “Water, water, everywhere,/ and all the boards did shrink,/ water, water, everywhere/ and not a drop to drink.” It is in this setting that the mariner suffers his punishments.
There are several themes in the poem, and several secondary themes relating to the supernatural and Christianity, but the most important would have to be the consequences of a single unthinking act. The mariner kills the pious bird, he does this impulsive act casually and without cause. But as you read on the poem, it is found that you cannot destroy something without creating something new. The seeds of destruction and the seeds of creation are linked and so, the loss of the mariner’s crew, his former self and ship, ultimately leads to the regeneration of the new mariner.
This process of creation and destruction leads onto the poem’s second major theme. The mariner realizes and suffers the consequences of this single unthinking act and he struggles to accept responsibility for it. He must comprehend that in nature, everything has the same value and beauty to it. The mariner’s realization begins at the near end of part 4, when he recognizes the beauty of the sea snakes; “A spring of love gushed from his heart and he blessed them unaware.” At this point of the poem, strong Christian themes are also present. It is here that connections are made between suffering, repentance, redemption and penance. These elements combine to add a religious overtone and this symbolism last throughout the poem.
Coleridge is portraying the ancient mariner as human beings in general and the albatross as all of god’s creatures inhabiting nature. The poem shows the mariner developing into a compassionate human being that appreciates his surroundings and do not take it for granted. The moral of the poem is shown in the last words of the mariner: “He prayeth best, who loveth best/ All things great and small/ For the dear god who loveth us/ He made and loveth all.” The poem shows that human relationship with nature should not be destructive, but rather we should all live in harmony.
Written By Victor Li
