To Pray or Pester
Sarah Eagen
Rime Essay
Writers Workshop
Though parts of nature can be very irritating, such as a fly or a cockroach, it is all around us and keeping us alive. Samuel Taylor Coleridge demonstrates this in his poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a story told through the eyes of a sailor to a passing fellow that he has an urge to speak to. He tells his momentous and transformative journey through the storms and calm waters of the ocean. After his many different encounters with the natural world through his travels, the Mariner sees nature as something to pray for instead of pestering. Through his journey he is able to find meaning in loving nature that he never appreciated before.
At the beginning of the story, the Mariner is unaware of the need to appreciate nature. In one of the Mariner's encounters with nature is while he is looking over the ocean. He is put off by the slimy texture of the water and the disgusting smell of the rotting animals that float on top. Coleridge writes, “And a thousand thousand slimy things/ lived on; so did I // I looked upon the rotting sea, / And drew my eyes away”(p 12). At the start of the poem, the Mariner finds nature unnerving, he feels as though the animals and plants are not worth anything. He sees them as ugly and disgusting, but later in the poem, he is later proven wrong by his discoveries.
In one of the final scenes of the story, the Mariner finally encounters the true meaning of his journey. After sailing for weeks, he has been through a lot, such as the death of a loved one, his crewmates, and the pain and suffering of hunger and dehydration. In the wee hours of the night, he is trying not to think of his suffering: “Within the shadow of the ship, / I wanted their rich attire: / Blue, glossy green, and velvet black, / They coiled and swam; and every track/ Was a flash of golden fire. //O happy living things! No tongue/ Their beauty might declare: / A spring of love gushed from my heart, / And blessed them unaware: / Sure my saint took pity on me, / And I blessed them unaware”(p 13). In this encounter, the Mariner is taken aback by the fact that nature is so beautiful. He sees the bright colors and graceful movements of the plants and animals, and he realizes that there is more to them than it appears. He finally sees their true colors once the moon rises into the night sky. The Mariner then admits what he has learned once he is finished with his pain and suffering.
At the end of the book he thinks back over the times he interacted with nature and realizes that not everything that swims in the water is revolting. He also realizes that if he wants to be loved he must love everything as well. After finally getting saved from his boat and now setting foot on land, he is thinking about what he learned from his voyage. He reflects, “He prayeth well, who loveth well/ Both man and bird and beast. / He prayeth best, who loveth best/ All things both great and small; / For the dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth all” (p 22-23). Throughout the book, he grew by his encounters, and the Mariner looks back over his journey to restate what he has learned. He realizes that he must love the nature that surrounds him so that he can be loved as well. Though he was filled with hatred in the beginning, as the story progressed he was confronted with situations that shaped the way he looked at the world.
The beginning of the poem the Mariner spits on the ocean creatures, but by the end he loves them with open arms. The Mariner is disgusted with the slimy creatures who live in the ocean as they rot and create a disturbing scene. He then is able to watch them later in the text, and he sees the creatures again but in a different light. He sees them splashing and shining in the moonlight, shimmering like flames. The ending concludes that the Mariner finds out the true meaning of appreciating nature and loving his surroundings, which will stick with him for the rest of the days that he roams.
