Concetti Chiave
- "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is a ballad by Coleridge found in "Lyrical Ballads" and follows an old sailor's tale.
- During a storm-driven voyage to the South Pole, the crew views an albatross as a lucky divine sign.
- The Mariner impulsively shoots the albatross, leading to tension among the crew and changes in fortune.
- The ship ends up in the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by water and plagued by stagnation and eerie phenomena.
- The Mariner is fated to recount his story as penance after witnessing the beauty of sea snakes and experiencing isolation.
Introduction to the ballad
“The rime of the Ancient Mariner” is a ballad from “Lyrical Ballads” written by Coleridge.
An old sailor stops three wedding guests but only one of them stops himself for hearing the story narrated by the Ancient Mariner.
During a voyage his ship was driven by a storm towards the Southpole and caught in a field of floating ice. Suddenly an albatross arrives and the sailors hails it as a divine sign of good luck.
Soon the ice splits and the wind begins to flow the right way. The ship is followed by the bird, sailed the North, without a reason, the Mariner shoots the albatross. The Mariner is an overreacher : he wants to see what happens once the divine sign has been eliminated. For this act he will be punished. The wind, however, is shill favorable. At first the sailors get angry with the Mariner but one morning they see that the sun is no longer in fog so thanks the Mariner for killing the albatross.
Consequences of the mariner's actions
The ship reached the Pacific Ocean and the wind stops. The sailors see nothing but only water around them and sun above they heads and also some disgusting water snakes. Everyone is wondering if what is happening comes from the killing of the albatross . So they decide to hang the
died albatross on the Mariner’s neck like a cross. After some time a skeleton of a ship appears with a Specter Woman (death) and Life-in Death, the only crew. During a game with dice the life-in death wins the Mariner life and the other Sailors, instead, they are going to die. The Mariner finds himself completely alone and one night, by the light of the woom, he watched again the water snakes and this time he was impressed by their beauty and blessed them. The Mariner has to tell this story to all who he suceed in stopping as an atonement.
Domande da interrogazione
- What is the significance of the albatross in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"?
The albatross is initially hailed as a divine sign of good luck by the sailors, as its arrival coincides with the ice splitting and favorable winds. However, the Mariner's impulsive act of shooting the bird leads to dire consequences, symbolizing the disruption of nature's harmony and resulting in the crew's misfortune.
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