The Rime of the Ancient Mariner's Morals and Beliefs
Eve Ghuloum
Throughout a person’s life, they take things like nature, friends, and family for granted. But what would happen if you had everything stripped away in a matter of days? Through the course of the epic poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the Mariner comes to several intersections, where the Mariner learns more about how his choices can affect others as well as how he functions and his traits.. As the Mariner pursues a crazy journey, he starts to gain a deeper meaning to nature, spirits, life, and death. Throughout this story, the Mariner develops a newfound appreciation for nature as well as his friends and family.
The Mariner makes some choices while on the ship which may have everlasting effects. During his time at sea, the Mariner makes an impulsive decision to shoot an albatross that had been loyal to him and his shipmates. ”And the good south wind still blew behind, / but no sweet bird did follow, / nor any day for food or play, / came to the mariner’s hollo!” In this passage, the mariner starts to comprehend how shooting the albatross might have not been the best idea, and how it has and will affect him and his shipmates. The mariner’s recklessness has to catch up to him at one point though.
Over a short period of time, the Mariner’s impulsive and controversial actions catch up to him. Almost immediately after the mariner shoots the albatross, the ship gets stuck at sea, leaving everyone on board without water and limited food. But, all of a sudden the mariner’s shipmates start to die off like flies. “Four times fifty living men, / (And I heard nor sigh nor groan)/ With heavy thump, a lifeless lump,/ They dropped down one by one”(p. #)
Becoming isolated from all other living beings at sea gives the mariner the time to think about everything he has in his life that he takes from granted.the soil and dirt that has harvested fruits and vegetables as well as friends and family. Which in fact leads back to the point of his previous lack of appreciation for nature and earth.
His life flashes before his eyes and the Mariner comes to realize the true reason that he had this all happen to him. The Mariner’s ship has sunk, but a hermit, a pilot, and his son retrieve his seemingly lifely body from the ocean in an effort to save him, and they succeed. ”Under the water it rumbled on,/ Still louder and more dread:/ it reached the ship, it split the bay;/ The ship went down like lead”(p. #). At this moment, everything the mariner had almost gone into flames, his shipmates, food supply and daily human interaction, so when the pilot saved him from going down with the ship, it was almost reminiscent of an epiphany and made the mental click for the mariner.
In this tale, the mariner starts to understand how much of a privilege it is to have friends and family that care about him.
As this story progresses throughout the book, the reader gains a deeper meaning to daily human connect as well as how much we take nature for granted. The intersections that the mariner encounters almost shape this story, and his life. They had a lasting effect on him, triggering a lifestyle change, to be more grateful for nature and everything around him.
