Random Thoughts.....What Are You Thinking?

The poem “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is an epic written by Coleridge during the Romantic era, a movement which was chiefly created with the idea of the common man. Keeping this in mind, another large reasoning behind this movement was the idea of Oriental motivation. This of course is referring to the land known now as Western Asia, particularly where the land of Mongolia lay. It’s a focus on the unknown and mystics, especially when it refers to spirituality.

This is easily the case with the tale that the Mariner tells, wherein he relates his story to a wedding guest and talks about the trials and tribulations he had gone through while circling the Horn of Africa. The common man idea comes into play when the Ancient Mariner is alone on the ship, and though the rest of his crew (who were against him shooting the albatross at the beginning) lie dead at his feet. None of them are heroes, and instead only the one who had done the “evil” deed was allowed to live. This also brings in part the idea of the spirituality and mysticism, especially when killing the good luck charm (ie: albatross) was seen as a significant omen. The weight of the albatross around his neck represents his guilt for doing that which no other had hoped for.

Though these symbols are at the heart of the story, the big picture of the whole story is the idea of loneliness. Though he lived through this harrowing experience, he must spend the rest of his life (and possibly eternity) traveling and telling whoever will lend an ear about his troublesome story. This comes from Coleridge himself, and this is evidenced by his poem: “This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison” wherein he feels he is lonely as his friends go off to walk through the garden while he must remain under the tree and reflect as his feet ache due to burning them. This in turn also focuses on the common man, but later on could also be construed as determinism, as represented by Stephen Crane.