Nature in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor

Rime of the Ancient Mariner Essay: Introduction

Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” fits within the Romantic
literary style. In the poem, nature is represented as a powerful and inspiring force that is
incomprehensible to humans, who, in comparison to nature, have no power in influencing the
world and what eventually occurs. In the dispute about nature in “The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner,” there can be two contrasting opinions on the treatment of nature. On the one hand,
environmentalists may be concerned with the way nature is treated by humans, while on the
other, there is a spiritual perspective that nature is the embodiment of God, with which the
Mariner must reconcile.
Power and Nature in Rime of the Ancient Mariner

“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” begins with the description of a wedding feast, during which
the Mariner decided to tell his remarkable story. The scene then changes to the description of
nature where the Mariner is left alone to sail his ship: “the ship was cheered, the harbor cleared,
Merrily, did we drop,” which signifies the positive outlook of the mariner on his upcoming
adventures (Coleridge 52).
Alone and away from civilization, the Mariner is forced to battle against storms and other dangers
of the ocean. A crucial moment to consider in the discussion about the role of nature in the poem
is the Mariner killing an albatross (Rumens). Some can link this episode to the human desire to
master nature, while for others, this act is spiritual. However, one must agree that nature in the
poem has much more power over human beings than human beings have of nature. For instance,
nature is so powerful that it forces the Mariner and his sailors to suffer from intense thirst when
they remain in desolate waters: “Water, water, everywhere, and all the boards did shrink; water,
water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink” (Coleridge 70). This shows that any attempts to become
the master of nature are pointless, and the only thing that human beings can do is merely survive.
Spirituality Versus Environmentalism: Should They Be Separated?
With regard to the idea of spirituality in the poem, the author depicts nature as an expression of
the spiritual world. The author illustrates the close links between nature and the spirituality in
the sequence of unfortunate events that the Mariner has to suffer after killing the albatross
(Pham). In the poem, nature is the creation of God; thus, when the Mariner improperly interacts
with nature and wants to gain power over it, he also challenges God. Therefore, attempts at
harming nature are sins or moral failures since they question the authority and power of God.

In the Christian perspective, sins lead to punishment, and in the poem, the penalty is supernatural
– a combination of natural and spiritual, with polar spirits coming to haunt the Mariner and his
crew: “And some in dreams assured were of the Spirit that plagued us so; Nine fathom deep he
had followed us from the land of mist and snow” (Coleridge 71). Apart from the polar spirits, the
Mariner experiences the nightmare of Life-in-Death: “The nightmare Life-in-Death was she, Who
thicks man’s blood with cold” (Coleridge part 3). The existence of such supernatural beings in the
poem shows that humans should avoid being reckless in their actions and cause harm simply due
to their rage.
The punishment is relieved when the Mariner and the seamen learn how to value nature. In the
verse where the mariner started appreciating the creation of God: “A spring of life gushed from
my heart, and I bless them unaware: Sure my kind saint took pity on me, and I blessed them
unaware” there is a clear shift from the unfortunate events that haunted the protagonist
(Coleridge 80). The appreciation for nature as the creation of God is the defining factor that
alleviates the punishment because the Mariner realizes what he does wrong: “the self-same
moment I could pray; and from my neck so free the albatross fell off, and sank like lead inti the
sea” (Coleridge 81). The punishment relieves because the Mariner experiences the consequences
of his actions and prays for being relieved from the hauntings of the spirits.
Throughout the entire poem, there is a message of appreciation for nature as God’s creation
(Joavani 74). The author emphasizes that when human beings take what nature offers without
giving back, they are likely to pay for their actions: “twas right, say they, such birds to slay, that
brings the fog and mist” (Coleridge 69). In this way, the author wants to say that harming other
natural creation of God will bring nothing but fog and mist, which many people associate with
darkness and the lack of understanding of what the future holds. One cannot help to think about
the resource crisis that the world is experiencing at the moment. People are used to relying on
natural resources such as water, oil, minerals; however, they forget that when all of it is gone, the
Earth will become impossible to live on (Goldenberg).

Conclusion
One can conclude that nature plays a dual role in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” which means
that the environmental and spiritual messages should not be opposed to one another. The co-
existence of Life-in-Death and polar spirits within the poem shows that the author sees them as
integral parts of God’s nature that humans should not overlook to avoid being treated in the same
way as the Mariner (Kim 12). Although such supernatural phenomena as polar spirits do not exist
in real life, Coleridge used them as metaphors that represent the adverse outcomes of harming
the nature.