Christianity and the Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" tells the bizarre tale of a mariner's voyage at sea. The Mariner's voyage is similar to the redemption a person goes through when they practice a religion such as Christianity. There is a reason the Mariner shoots the Albatross and is chosen as the one to endure the hardships of the voyage alone. There is also significance to his retelling the story to the young guest at the wedding. It is all part of the redemption process the Mariner must go through. When one compares the two, it can be said that the Mariner's voyage mirrors the journey of a Christian being persecuted, seeking repentance, and ultimately earning redemption.

The death of the Albatross is what begins the Mariner's persecution. The Mariner of the past is a careless soul. This is why he absentmindedly kills the Albatross, an innocent victim. The Mariner may have killed the bird to show his power. It was his attempt to play God. By killing the bird, he, not the bird, controlled the destiny of what would happen next. Although the bird's death cannot be compared to murder, in the eyes of the Mariner's shipmates, he committed a sin.

Since the Mariner killed the bird, it would be logical for him to suffer. However, this is not why the Mariner goes about the journey alone. Although he is not aware, the Mariner is the chosen one. This is similar to those that feel they were chosen by God to minister for Him. Upon the death of the bird, the shipmates treated the Mariner with hate which would be frowned upon in God's eyes. Therefore, the shipmates would not have learned anything by going through the Mariner's ordeal. "The moral they would have carried away would have been: 'If any one, by a loveless deed to God's creatures brings wrath upon us...let us hate him, and then our hatred will purchase us pardon of the God of love!'" (Guthrie par. 9). The Mariner, on the other hand, would learn from it and later use it to educate others.