How Does Coleridge Mingle Natural And Supernatural in the Poem ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’?

Answer

How does Coleridge mingle natural and supernatural in the poem ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s (1772-1834) poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (1798) is a remarkable romantic literary text. It flawlessly combines natural and supernatural elements. Coleridge obscures the boundaries between the ordinary and the extraordinary through vivid imagery, symbolic representations, and the Mariner’s evocative story. In studying the natural and supernatural blending, we can identify several key factors within the poem.

Setting: Coleridge displays the Mariner’s ship in the ocean to develop the poem’s natural setting. The natural illustrations of the sea and the weather are a background for the unfolding supernatural events. The ordinary encounter between the Mariner and the wedding guest on the sea indicates the starting point for the Mariner’s supernatural tale. 

The Albatross: The albatross bird introduces supernaturalism in the natural world. The appearance of the bird occurs naturally. However, it surpasses the ordinary introduction. When the Mariner shoots the albatross, the supernatural outcome is clear. It is evident in the following lines. 

At length did cross an Albatross,

Thorough the fog it came;

As if it had been a Christian soul,

We hailed it in God’s name.

Death of the Two Hundred Sailors: How two hundred seamen died is likewise miraculous. Two hundred sailors die one by one so rapidly that they cannot scream or cry. As each sailor kills sin, his soul passes by the old sailor like a crossbow’s shot.

Punishment and Redemption: After killing the albatross, the Mariner gets punished. This punishment introduces supernatural elements into his experience. The unearthly suffering he takes reflects a supernatural dimension. The comparison of natural and supernatural is apparent in the Mariner’s narrative of his suffering:

And I had done a hellish thing,

And it would work ’em woe;

For all averred, I had killed the bird

That made the breeze to blow.

Water Snakes: The universal theme