The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Poetry | Samuel Taylor Coleridge

How Does Coleridge Mingle Natural And Supernatural in the Poem 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'?

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How does Coleridge mingle natural and supernatural in the poem 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Samuel Taylor Coleridge's - poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a remarkable romantic literary text It flawlessly combines natural and supernatural elements Coleridge obscures the boundaries between the ordinary and the extraordinary through vivid imagery symbolic representations and the Mariner's evocative story In studying the natural and supernatural blending we can identify several key factors within the poem Setting Coleridge displays the Mariner's ship in the ocean to develop the poem's natural setting The natural illustrations of the sea and the weather are a background for the unfolding supernatural events The ordinary encounter between the Mariner and the wedding guest on the sea indicates the starting point for the Mariner's supernatural tale The Albatross The albatross bird introduces supernaturalism in the natural world The appearance of the bird occurs naturally However it

surpasses the ordinary introduction When the Mariner shoots the albatross the supernatural outcome is clear It is evident in the following lines At length did cross an Albatross Thorough the fog it came As if it had been a Christian soul We hailed it in God's name Death of the Two Hundred Sailors How two hundred seamen died is likewise miraculous Two hundred sailors die one by one so rapidly that they cannot scream or cry As each sailor kills sin his soul passes by the old sailor like a crossbow's shot Punishment and Redemption After killing the albatross the Mariner gets punished This punishment introduces supernatural elements into his experience The unearthly suffering he takes reflects a supernatural dimension The comparison of natural and supernatural is apparent in the Mariner's narrative of his suffering And I had done a hellish thing And it would work 'em woe For all averred I had killed the bird That made the breeze to blow Water Snakes The universal theme of the poem is related to the tiny water snakes During their sailing through suspensions the water snakes appear to them These little creatures familiarise a surreal and supernatural element Coleridge incorporates together the natural fear of the sailors and the supernatural existence of the serpents The Hermit and the Pilot The Mariner meets a Hermit and a Pilot They symbolize the natural world's reaction to supernatural events The Hermit's prayer and the Pilot's reaction to the Mariner's appearance underline the tension between the ordinary and the supernatural The Hermit's role and the Pilot's astonishment highlight the interchange of natural and supernatural elements The Specter-Woman and her Death Crew The presence of Death and the Nightmare Life-in-Death is one of the most striking supernatural occurrences Their dice game to snatch the crew members' souls highlights the supernatural results of the Mariner's activities This is described shortly in the following quotation The Nightmare LIFE-IN-DEATH was she Who thicks man's blood with cold This supernatural involvement in the fate of the sailors strengthens the poem's unnatural themes In Conclusion the poet expertly interweaves the natural and supernatural to create an evocative story The poem contains the relation between ordinary and extraordinary through vivid imagery symbolic elements and the Mariner's harrowing journey The mingling of these elements captivates the readers and bears the theme of the potential outcome of human actions Coleridge's skillful use of language and imagery makes The Rime of the Ancient Mariner an everlasting exploration of the mystical and the mundane

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Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Literary Writer
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from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner