The strategies introduced in the rime of the ancient mariner to convince its audience to adopt coleridge’s moral.

Higher Level Essay (1500 words)

Title:
"The strategies introduced in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner to convince its audience to adopt Coleridge's moral."

May 2024 Exam Session

Word count: 1210

Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Romantic era poetry work outlines the story of a man who shot an Albatross that carried him thought a vast range of events, the blizzards, the dehydrating sun with dancing zombies and the sinking ship with the Hermit. More specifically, it focalizes on a wide range of themes revolving around religion, sins and more importantly the appreciation of nature through the Mariner storytelling of his sin. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner moves through the death of the Albatross, unfolding a range of events representing the consequences and forgiveness of his sins. This strategy manipulates his audience to adopt the moral of enjoying and respecting nature. The author uses a vast range of stylistic devices such as repetitions, personifications, metaphors, and similes to initiate fear and panic in the audience. Moreover, he focalizes on the elaborate and vivid descriptions of the Mariner's surrounding to warn the reader of the consequences of not following the moral. Coleridge introduces religious figures such as the Albatross symbolizing God and the Devil to oblige his audience to take his message seriously.

Firstly, Coleridge introduces numerous literary devices which frightens the readership, and garners a greater regard for the author's messages. The author incorporates stylistic devices to communicate his journey after breaking the moral (240-244):

I look'd upon the rotting sea,
And drew my eyes away;
I look'd upon the rotting deck,

The personifications and repetition express how self-antagonizing the Mariner is being, therefore creating a dramatic effect, resulting in a dark atmosphere for the readers. They feel scared and pushed into following the moral of admiring nature. Furthermore, the usage of the pronoun "I" forms a deeper connection with the audience since it allows them to sink into Coleridge's imagination and mind. By picturing what the Mariner is living through, the audience feels sickened since numerous dead men are lying beside him, this allows the readers to truly experience what he had experienced. This imagery also represent death, causing fear and panic in the audience since his religion (Christianity) states that the sea represents death and chaos. Moreover, the line 450 to 455 emphasizes his regret and repercussions:

Doth walk in fear and dread,

And turns no more his head.

The simile on the first line expresses his loneliness and isolation as his curse, emitting a dark scene, hence, frightening the audience. This fear pushes the reader to follow his moral to avoid experiencing what he did. Furthermore, the metaphor on the second line paints him as a regretful sinner, supported by the last line, revealing the Mariner is too ashamed to even reflect on his acts. These scenes drive the readership to avoid committing the same mistake by generating fear and panic, consequently, manipulating them into respecting his moral to be grateful for nature.

Secondly, numerous vivid scenes are painted into the readership's mind to facilitate picturing the author's terrifying vision of the Mariner's journey to scare the readership into adopting his moral. Coleridge begins by describing his surroundings after shooting the Albatross (111-113):

All in a hot and copper sky,
The bloody Sun, at noon,

This extract contains the imagery of "copper sky" creating a hell-like atmosphere, alarming the reader of the commencement of his curse. Moreover, the "bloody sun" portrays chaos since it embodies doom, which can be linked to the destruction of the moral and God's creature. This reminds the reader of the Mariner's sins. Plus, the mast can represent Jesus dying on the cross, which, forms a gruesome environment, omitting distress to the readership. These strategies carry the audience through terror, thus, encouraging them to follow Coleridge's message of appreciating nature. Nonetheless, the author outlines brighter scenes to convince the reader to enjoy nature (325-327):

The thick black cloud was cleft, and still
The Moon was at its side:
Like waters shot from some high crag,

This scene communicates that someone must recognize nature to stay in heaven which is Coleridge's moral. The passage highlights a visual imagery of a mystical setting, offering a reference to heaven, hence, relieving the readership of the past brutal scenes. This peaceful transition guides the reader towards appreciating nature and its surroundings. Moreover, this extract represents the Mariner's rebirth from his sins, painting a forgiving scene where he starts loving nature. The contrast of the setting between hell and heaven strongly influences the reader into choosing to follow the moral to avoid going through his journey.

Thirdly, Coleridge introduces a variety of Christian religious figures from the Albatross to the Devil. This tactic is utilized to ensure the readership takes this poem seriously since many were believers. The main icon is the Albatross as it has been the initiating event (141-142) "Instead of the cross, the Albatross/ About my neck was hung.". The internal rhyme in the quote sets a connection between the Albatross and God, which, incites that the bird is symbolizing Christ. The Mariner's display of the dead bird on his neck portrays his shame and guilt in the form of humiliation. Wearing it as a cross can be linked to the crossbow he used as well, bringing his audience to judge him for his acts. The judgement developed in this scene influences the reader to avoid disrespecting the morals since they would not want to be in the Mariner's place. In addition, the lines 405 to 406 emphasizes the brutality of his sins, "He loved the bird that loved the man/ Who shot him with his bow.". This quote is recited by one of the angelic voices, giving a third-person narration, this sudden change better captures the readership's attention. This tragic revelation in the form of a repetition saddens the audience, pushing them to detest the main character's sins. After witnessing the monstrosity of his act, the audience is influenced to adopt the moral, if not, they would have to live through the journey of the Mariner. Additionally, he is portrayed as the devil in the later scenes "The Devil knows how to row."" (569), this consonance incorporates a malignant feel into the audience's mind, resulting in fear of becoming the Mariner. Moreover, in Christianity the devil characterizes death and destruction, painting a poor image of the Mariner from the audience's perspective.

In conclusion, Coleridge shares his moral to love nature through a wide range of stylistic devices, the description of the setting and religious figures to initiate fear, panic, and judgement towards the Mariner's sins. The metaphors, similes and personification emit shame towards his actions and the fear of being in the Mariner's place. This pushes to readership to comprehend the importance of following the moral. On the other side, the vivid setting description forces the readership into picturing the terrifying journey versus the peaceful and beautiful setting they would experience by respecting the moral, which, influences them to adopt it. Lastly, since his targeted audience was religious, approaching topics such as the devil and the killing of God through the Albatross ensures that the readership will take his work seriously. Therefore, the religious figures such as the Albatross and the devil assist the author in communicating his morals seriously.

What Does The Bible Say About The Ocean?
https://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/what-does-the-bible-say-about-the-ocean/. Retrieved January 22, 2024.

« Victorian Religion ». English Heritage,
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/story-of-england/victorian/religion/. Retrieved January 23, 2024.

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. 1984.