the Mariner kills it for no clear reason With my cross-bow I shot the ALBATROSS This act represents a crime against God s creation and by extension a crime against nature The Mariner himself realizes the gravity of his actions when he says I had done a hellish thing The killing of the Albatross symbolizes human sin It is a sin of disrespect for the beauty and innocence of nature Punishment Suffering and Isolation After the Mariner kills the Albatross he and the crew are immediately punished The wind stops and the ship is stuck in the middle of the sea The Mariner and the crew members suffer from thirst and heat The poem describes their suffering with the famous lines Water water every where Nor any drop to drink Part This punishment is not just physical but also spiritual The crew hangs the Albatross around the Mariner s neck It symbolizes the weight of his guilt The Mariner says Instead of the cross the Albatross About my neck was hung Part His crewmates die and the Mariner is surrounded by his dead crewmates He becomes isolated The curse of the dead sailors eyes adds to his torment Punishment by Supernatural Forces The punishment for the Mariner s crime is not just from nature but also from supernatural forces After the Mariner kills the Albatross ghostly figures like Death and Life-in-Death appear They gamble play dice for the lives of the crew The crew dies but the Mariner is left alive under the control of Life-in-Death The Mariner is condemned to suffer in a state of living death The Mariner describes Life-in-Death The Night-mare Life-in-Death was she Who thicks man's blood with cold Part This supernatural force adds horror to the story It deepens the Mariner s punishment Salvation Loving God s Creature The Mariner s salvation begins when he starts to appreciate the beauty of nature He realizes that all living creatures are part of God's creation no matter how small or big This realization happens when he sees the water snakes and describes their beauty He says O happy living things no tongue Their beauty might declare Part At this moment the Mariner can pray again and the Albatross falls from his neck This symbolizes the lifting of his guilt The Mariner s spiritual salvation begins Allegorical Learning We can find the allegorical learning of the poem in the last part The Mariner now knows that a religious pious person loves all of God s creatures no matter how big or small God is the creator of all and He loves all creatures The Mariner says He prayeth best who loveth best All things both great and small To wrap up Coleridge uses the Mariner s journey to create an allegory of crime punishment and salvation in the poem The Mariner s sin against nature God s creature leads to severe physical and spiritual punishment The poem teaches redemption is possible through respect for nature and sincere repentance