Summary & Analysis

Rime of the Ancient Mariner Text

After 7 days and nights of this, but he was unable to die. Then night fell on him. Something changes inside the Mariner and he suddenly finds himself able to pray. At that moment, the albatross falls from his neck, like a weight off his shoulders. With the "weight" of the albatross off his shoulders, he can sleep. The rain pours down on him and as it does, spirits come and take over the bodies of his old crew. The ship begins to move forward again and the Mariner join in on the work. He then tells the wedding guest that they were not pained souls, but blessed spirits. At dawn, a sweet sound came from the mens' mouths. After, the ship drifted further ahead. The mariner believes it is the spirit from the land of mist and snow that is guiding the ship. At noon, the ship suddenly stopped and was pulled forward and backward. Then suddenly, the ship lurched forward. The Mariner then hears a spirit asking if he was the one who shot the albatross. A second spirit comes and says that he has done his penance and that he will do more.
The 2 spirits then discuss the situation. At some time, while the Mariner was asleep, the ship began moving forward again. He then saw the marks of his homeland. When he turned, the Mariner saw beings of light leave the bodies of his men and they left him. At some point, the boat had sunk and he was floating. He heard the sounds of oars as a pilot and his son came to rescue him. He also heard the voice of a hermit, of which he hoped, would absolve him. When the Mariner asked the hermit to do so, the hermit told him to do was to tell his tale. As he did, the Mariner's guilt went away. After some time, the guilt would come back and he would again have to tell his tale, but only to a certain person. The Mariner's tale is ended and the Mariner leaves. The wedding guest rises the next day a sadder and wiser man.
I think that since the poem has a sort of "Jesus Christ" symbolism, the ending may have to do with the notion of missionaries. The tale must be told again and again to help remember the sacrifice and the pain that was felt. Because telling it is the only way to get rid of the guilt for the Mariner, but for us, telling the story reminds us of why he was sacrificed and what we must do now. We hear the story, and then move on sadder and wiser.

Vincent Nguyen