Draw the Significance of Death and Life-in-Death in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.”
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a notable literary work by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, to various questions of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Answer
Draw the significance of Death and Life-in-Death in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.”
“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (1798) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) is an allegorical poem. It examines themes of sin, redemption, and the supernatural. The characters of Death and Life-in-Death contribute to the development of the poem. These shape the fate of the guilty mariner. Here are some points signifying Death and Life-in-Death in the poem:
Definition of Death: Death shapes the fate of the ship members. It represents a straightforward physical death. It wins the soul of the 200 crews. It makes them die physically. We can cite a quotation from the poem to illustrate the point clearly.
The souls did from their bodies fly,
They fled to bliss or woe!
And every soul, it passed me by,
Like the whizz of my cross-bow!
Through these lines, the Mariner says their soul fled their body to join in heaven or hell. It made a whizzing sound identical to the arrow that killed the albatross.
Meaning of Life-in-Death: Life-in-Death symbolizes spiritual death. It wins the Mariner’s soul, making him physically and spiritually die. Here are some lines from the text to be introduced with the figure Life-in-Death.
Her lips were red, her looks were free,
Her locks were yellow as gold:
Her skin was as white as leprosy,
The Night-mare LIFE-IN-DEATH was she,
Who thicks man’s blood with cold.
These lines narrate the physical stature of Life-in-Death. It was a horrifying woman. She could freeze a man’s blood with cold fear.
Eternal Punishment: Life-in-Death is more sinister than death. When Life-in-Death wins the mariner’s soul, he fails to repent for his actions. This means that Life-in-Death has entrapped him in spiritual death. This spiritual death separates him from all other living beings and from love itself. For a week, surrounded by the bodies of fallen sailors, the mariner suffers from loneliness, horror, and remorse.
In final, these two characters are the supernatural forces in the poem. They signify the sufferings following a crime. They gamble on the deck of the phantom ship to win the sailor’s life. Death wins the 200 crew member’s life, making them die. Life-in-Death wins the Mariner, bringing utmost suffering to him.