Romantics– They saw nature as vast and powerful and were in opposition to reason and scientific explanation. They were interested in extreme emotional reactions such as awe and terror.
- Religion– The poem can be seen as a Christian message about looking after all God’s creatures; it can also be seen as a Christian allegory where the albatross comes to save the men like Christ and was shot down. The poem could show Coleridge’s pantheism, which is a belief that there is a god or supernatural power in all of nature.
- Chance and chaos– The sailors, mariner and wedding guest are perpetually confused. Moreover the events in the poem are literally dictated by a game of dice played between Death and Life in Death. The mariner longs for a normal, peaceful life as is reflected in the wedding that frames the poem but is every moving and reliving his strange story.
- Death– The poem explores which is worse, to die or to never be able to die and to be cursed.
- Nature– The sailors are at the mercy of the ocean and the weather. When the albatross appears we are unsure of its purpose but shooting it seems to lead to a serious of horrific and supernatural events. In order to partially break the curse he is under the mariner must bless even the most disgusting of animals.
- Ballad– an ancient form of story telling, often put to music. Ballads were usually sung and passed down through word of mouth just as the mariner does.
- Voice– There are several voices in the poem: the mariner himself, the wedding guest, the two mysterious voices, ‘Life in Death’, the pilot and the hermit.
Remember to learn quotations, the more you learn, the easier it is to come up with ideas and examples in an exam without having to keep reading through the poem!
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Test It!
- How does Coleridge tell the story in part I of the poem?
- How does Coleridge use different voices to tell the story in the poem?
- How far do you agree that the poem has a Christian message?
- Read the ‘Preface to the Lyrical Ballads’, why do you think Wordsworth was apprehensive about including ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’?
- Find at least two quotes that you think clearly show a particular aspect of narrative. Do this for at lease 5 themes/ concepts or language features.
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Some top tips!
- Print out the Test It! Questions – it will allow you to replicate exam conditions and also allows you to give your eyes a rest from the computer screen whilst doing your crucial revision.
- Make a copy of the Remember It! Section and put in a place that you often look at. i.e. front of a journal, next to a mirror, on a kitchen cupboard door, etc. That way you can do some cheeky A Level English revision whilst doing those things you have to do!