The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is a poem where the Mariner shares his experience which taught him a valuable lesson with a wedding guest. The poem is broken down into seven different sections which in a way makes it feel like a short story. Coleridge seems to have used a great deal of symbolism to showcase his strong belief in Christianity. He made multiple references to God, heaven, hell, repentance and prayer throughout the poem. The Albatross is the sea bird that leads the sailors back on course and is seen as a good omen. It symbolizes nature's beauty or in a religious context, one of God's creations. In lines 63 to 66, Coleridge states, "At length did cross an Albatross,/ Thorough the fog it came;/ As if it had been a Christian soul,/ We hail'd it in God's name. " The Mariner basically describes the bird as a creature made by God. The spirits from the South Pole that follow the Mariner in his journey home seem to be passing judgement on him which can be seen as another Christian symbolization. In lines 399 to 410, Coleridge says:

"Is it he?" quoth one, "is this the man?
By Him who died on cross,	400
With his cruel bow he laid full low
The harmless Albatross.
The Spirit who bideth by himself
In the land of mist and snow,
He loved the bird that loved the man	405
Who shot him with his bow."
The other was a softer voice,
As soft as honey-dew:
Quoth he, "The man hath penance done,
And penance more will do."	410

The spirits explained that the Mariner had killed of one God's creations and faced penance for it which is voluntary self-punishment or repentance in order to atone for some wrongdoing and should continue to do so. The Mariner's wrong doing was not respecting and killing one of God's creations. In a way, it was human nature that allowed the Mariner to kill the Albatross because it is in our nature to do things before we think of the consequences. His prayers could not be heard until he realized the beauty that lied within all of God's creations which he finally saw with the water snakes. When he killed the Albatross with his crossbow, he thought nothing of it and felt no guilt over hurting something innocent which is why he was given a test of sorts to teach him a lesson. Lines 141 and 142 state "Instead of the cross, the Albatross/ About my neck was hung." The Albatross was hung around the Mariner's neck as a punishment or a cross he had to bear until he realized his mistake. The Albatross finally did fall off when he admitted to his wrongdoing.
The Mariner is rescued from the sinking ship by the Pilot and encounters the Hermit on it. The Mariner asks the Hermit to shrieve him which means to question. The Mariner then told the Hermit everything that had happened on the ship and what he had done. I believe that the Mariner needed to confess his wrongdoing to the holy man because he finally felt guilt and regret over killing the Albatross. It freed him in a way to confess. He still carries around that guilt which is why he shares his story with others such as the wedding guest so that they will not make the same mistake. The lesson that the Mariner learns is summed up in lines 615 to 618,"He prayeth best, who loveth best/ All things both great and small;/ For the dear God who loveth us,/ He made and loveth all.` The Mariner learned that man should love all things that God has made just as God loves all things that he has made. This lesson is emphasized above all other things in the poem.
Romantics and Coleridge in particular believed that each individual has their own personal vision and should have the freedom to express it. The power of imagination allows people to do this. Coleridge focused on showing a journey of the Mariner's change in feelings and his realization of nature's beauty. This poem fits the romantic view that people should put importance in their feelings and natural things above other things. It also shows the power of the mind because the way you think can restrict you from seeing the beauty of things around you or free you from guilt, pain and sorrow. The Mariner experienced both in the poem and due to his change in thinking, was able to repent and learn his lesson.