Concetti Chiave
- The Mariner's tale involves a crime against nature, highlighting the significance of the albatross's death and its consequences.
- The Mariner's journey explores themes of isolation and reconciliation, as he attempts to reconnect with nature.
- The story suggests an incomplete healing process, symbolized by the ship's movement and the presence of celestial spirits.
- Coleridge's collaboration with Wordsworth was a pivotal period, contrasting their poetic styles and thematic choices.
- Coleridge's Biographia Literaria and Shakespeare lectures showcased his insights, impacting both contemporary and future literary audiences.
The Sailor's Tale
- The - The ancient Mariner stops a wedding. He narrates how he and his fellow mariners reached the equator and the Polar Regions after a violent storm. An albatross was killed by the Mariner. Coleridge makes it significant in two ways: he does not say why the Mariner kills the albatross; secondly, this action is against nature and breaks a sacred law of life.
- The Mariner begins to suffer punishment for what he has done. The world which faces the Mariner after his crime is dead and terrible.
Reconciliation with Nature
- The third part shows how the - In the fourth part this sense of solitude is stressed and the guilty soul of the Mariner is cut off from nature. Then the Mariner blessed the water snakes and begins to re-establish a relationship with the world of nature.
- The ship begins to move and celestial spirits stand by the corpses of the dead men.
- In the sixth part the process of healing seems to be impeded.
Sympathy of the Wedding Guest
- In the last stanzas of the seventh part the Mariner gains the wedding guest’s sympathy. Coleridge does not tell the end of the story, but lets the reader suppose that the Mariner’s sense of guilt will end only with his death.
His years of collaboration with Wordsworth were the happiest of his life, and the most fruitful regarding poetry. The two poets shared certain ideas, like the healing and revelatory power of nature, but the contrast in style between Coleridge’s poems and those written by Wordsworth is remarkable. It does not only come from their differing temperaments; it is also the result of the way they planned the Lyrical Ballads: Wordsworth was to choose subjects from ordinary life, and Coleridge supernatural incidents and characters.
Biographia Literaria and Shakespeare
In his Biographia Literaria, Coleridge wrote:
“..it was agreed that my endeavours should be directed to persons and characters supernatural, or at least romantic; yet so as to transfer from our inward nature a human interest and a semblance imagination that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith”.
Moreover, both with Biographia Literaria and with his Lectures on Shakespeare, Coleridge was able to bring to life the art of Shakespeare for his fellow countrymen. His character analysis was subtle, and he was aware of the particular use of style and imagery which renders each of Shakespeare’s plays a powerful unity, which cannot and must not be divided or altered.
Influence on New Generations
His wonderful lectures and conversations fascinated and influenced a new generation of writers who listened to a man who had mastered nearly every important work of literature.
Domande da interrogazione
- How does the Mariner begin to reconcile with nature in the story?
The Mariner begins to reconcile with nature by blessing the water snakes, which helps him re-establish a relationship with the natural world, allowing the ship to move again.
Accedi a tutti gli appunti
Tutor AI: studia meglio e in meno tempo
