The Rime of the Ancient Mariner contained the basic structure
that both Wordsworth and Coleridge had discussed. The two Cardinal points of
poetry (according to the Biographia Literaria, chapter 14 (1817) in the
anthology of the conversations between Coleridge and Wordsworth) it had to
contain: The power of exciting the sympathy of the reader by the faithful
adherence to the truth of nature. The second was the power of giving the interest
of novelty by modifying colors of imagination. Coleridge achieved both of these
two points of poetry by adding both a spiritual force to the singing albatross and
by emphasizing color (to the water, dead corpse, water thirst lips, etc.) despite
the previous establishment of an eerie setting. The reader is able to sympathize
with the mariner once he realized that killing the Albatross was a mistake
because the bird helped the by bringing good luck to their voyage and instead
of him appreciating what the bird brought to them he killed, bringing forth a
curse to him, his crew and his ship. It isn’t till the end that he realizes
that he had taken his blessings for granted. After he “prayeth well, who loved
well both men and bird and beast.” “God who loveth us, He made and loveth all”.
The bird can be taken as a metaphor for slaves, they were taken for granted too
and once they were killed, and their life was missed because of their good
deeds.
“In consequence of the film of familiarity and
selfish solicitude we have eyes, yet see not, and hearts that neither feel or
understand.” …Wordsworth
During my reading, I remember vividly the colors from the water when the ship was cursed and without wind. "About, about, in reel and rout / The death-fires danced at night; / The water, like a witch's oils, / Burnt green, and blue and white."
ReplyDeleteAlso the use of the Albatross was intriguing. Sources say the birds represent lost 'sailors at sea' and thus could bring good or bad luck. The fact the mariner shot the bird, wore it around his neck and was not affected by death makes me wonder if the dead bird necklace represents shameful experiences we take as burdens until we can learn to let them fall from our consciences(like gravity).