rime of the ancient mariner ellipsis examples

The mariner and his crew become optimistic. The ship turns around and begins to sail north with the aid of a south wind. The albatross, a bird that is rarely seen on land, perches on the ship for nine consecutive evenings - “vespers nine” - a Christian symbol of evening prayer. At first the sailors view it as a good omen that they hope will deliver them to warmer waters: “As if it had been a Christian soul/We hailed it in God’s name.” The encounter with the albatross is an integral aspect of the poem. In an Article Written by Pedro Gonzalez he writes: “In Coleridge’s poem the albatross comes out of the snow-fog like a wraith. As an oppressed deity for redemption, the albatross represents Christ in many respects, especially when you think that a bird also symbolizes Christ. This is the case because shooting the albatross seems like a useless act. But with that being said, shooting the albatross seems like a fate worse than death. If the albatross did not show up the crew possibly would have died in the ice field. Coleridge could also equate the albatross assassination with Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. In ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,’ it is impossible to believe that Coleridge did not think of the enigmatic wind blowing on the Mariner, without any knowledge of the air as a sign of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. The religious imagery used in this poem was essentially an Armageddon as it deals with the revelation of the Mariner that good must triumph over bad, and the acknowledgement of all creation as the existence of God. As Coleridge himself said of his masterpiece, it “turns out to be the idea of transgression and absolution, and of the train of consequences which persists even after absolution” as said by Sean Fitzpatrick. It tells a tale of sin, whose wages are death, and the life that exists within that death and beyond. The Ancient Mariner has organic and religious metaphors, but the most important roles in this poem are the metaphysical and human symbolisms which compare with each other.

Scholars have always come up with different explanations of this poem, but one particular idea has been prevalent in several debates and is the simple spiritual thread throughout this whole poem.

The historical imagery of the “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” published by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1797, has been debated throughout literary history. From the advent of the Bible, both religious and Christian concepts have also been used in writing.

Rime of the ancient mariner ellipsis examples