Nautical Lore and Frame Narration in Coleridge

source

           The narrative structure of Rime of the Ancycent Marinere is one of the most important aspects of the poem as a whole. The use of a frame narrative allows the audience to relate to the message of the poem, and thus brings another dimension to the story as the allegorical significance becomes clear. At the beginning of the poem, it is uncertain why the Mariner is relaying his tale to an apparent stranger, but the purpose of this is elucidated in the end. Coleridge employs the Gothic elements of superstition, supernatural, and the sublime, in addition to the narrative frame, to comment on the issues of morality and consequence.

The Mariner tells the man of his harrowing experience in Antarctica. An albatross, a bird which is native to the southern hemisphere, comes upon the ship. According to nautical superstition, albatrosses are reincarnations of dead sailors, and have the supernatural power to summon wind and warn of stormy weather. If a sailor kills an albatross, he will be cursed with misfortune for the rest of his life (Bird Folklore). The significance of the albatross to sailors is evidenced in the poem: “As it had been a Christian soul,/We hailed it in God's name” (Lines 63-63). The Mariner violates this superstition by killing the albatross in cold blood (Line 80). As a Gothic trope, the Albatross is a spirit, and thus both supernatural and sublime, with powers far beyond the scope of its earthly body. The consequence of the Mariner’s act senseless act of violence and power is to be visited by a ghost ship, which takes the lives of his shipmates, but condemns him to living death.

For this "story within a story," Coleridge takes common nautical folklore, which would have been well known at the time, to make a commentary on morality and Christianity. The effect of this adds to the sublimity of the poem. Sailors faced immense hardship and dangers at sea, for if anything went wrong they faced almost certain death; The Mariner’s tale is an allegory for the grave consequences of our actions, especially violence upon the vulnerable and innocent. Sailors myths are often a result of superstition and contain elements of the supernatural, as the ocean is extremely mysterious and cause for much suspicion. By setting the story at sea, in the most unfamiliar of all places on Earth, Antarctica, Coleridge evokes a much darker and ominous tone; the greatest mystery of life is that of a higher being and life after death, and thus the question of morality is central to many.

            In addition to the Gothic themes present throughout the poem, there are allusions to Christianity as well. After shooting the albatross, the Mariner is forced to carry the dead bird around his neck, which he likens to a crucifix (Lines 137-138). The result of his sin is to carry the burden of responsibility for the fate of the crew, and ultimately guilt for their untimely deaths; the reference to Jesus Christ shows how one man can steer the fate of many, though in this case it is to damnation, not salvation.

The Mariner’s fate is to pass on his wisdom about the sanctity of God’s creatures, and the consequences of unnecessary acts of violence and assertion of power. The fact that the wedding guest leaves “sadder but wiser” means he was the right choice for the story. It was necessary for the mariner to pass on this wisdom in hope of improving the existence of another soul:

I pass, like night, from land to land;
I have strange power of speech;
That moment that his face I see,
I know the man that must hear me:
To him my tale I teach. (Lines 619-623)

The fate of the Mariner is to impart to deserving souls his experience, and his wisdom that Christians must respect God’s creation and man can impose no unjust power over “all things both great and small” (Line 648). The ending makes the message of the poem clear, as we return to the outer frame story. The stranger was fated to hear the Mariner’s story, and it is his fate to gain the Mariner’s wisdom without suffering the same mistakes. This is why he leaves a “sadder but wiser man” (Line 657). Coleridge’s framing of the story as well as use of familiar nautical legends are instrumental in communicating the meaning of the poem.

 

By Hannah Casey

4/19/12

"Bird Folklore & Superstitions." Shaw Creek Bird Supply. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. <http://www.shawcreekbirdsupply.com/folklore_superstitions.htm>.