A Biographical Analysis of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Essays

A Biographical Analysis of The Rime of the Ancient MarinerThe Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, is asomewhat elongated poem concerning the paranormal activities of a seamariner and his crew. The work was constructed to be the beginningpiece in Lyrical Ballads, a two-volume set written by WilliamWordsworth and Coleridge. Wordsworth intended to, in his volume, makethe ordinary seem extraordinary, while Coleridge aimed to make theextraordinary ordinary. The Rime was first published in 1798. Despite the current popularity of the piece, it was harshly criticizedupon being first published. One of The Rimes toughest opponentswas Wordsworth himself, who claimed that the poem had neithercharacterization nor proper agency nor skill in the handling ofimagery (Fry, 12). Wordsworth even off bluntly described the piece asbeing in the wrong overall meter (Fry, 12). Because of these presumedflaws, The Rime was edited into several subsequent editions, beingreleased in 1800, 1802, 1805, 1817, and 1834. When a reader examines the Rime, the piece first appears to bemerely that of an archaic ghost story. Throughout the years though,many stimulate analyzed the poem from heterogeneous angles of interpretation. Some of the methods used to decipher The Rime have includedreader-response, Marxist, new historicism, psychoanalytic, and evendeconstruction analysis. While each of these alternatives provides anindividualistic prospective on the poem, they ar all somewhatdifferent, and can even be objective at times depending on the readerin question. While The Rime may have been constructed to addressslavery, the economy, or even morality, it can also be greatlyappreciated when formulae... ...ations of his work (Fry, 8). A shorttime later, Coleridge died, but only subsequently some of the most peacefulyears of his life. The Rime is a supernaturally based poem, which is full ofimaginative symbolism and imagery. Despite its numerous revisions, itis still a defini ng piece of literature from the Romantic period. While several approaches can be taken to investigate the poem, abiographical analysis provides an insightful look into the life of theauthor that created the work. In The Rime, Coleridge has theMariner facing many of the same obstacles that he faced throughout hislife, including death, isolation, constant wandering, and a finalsearch for salvation. full treatment CitedColeridge, Samuel. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Fry 26-75.Fry, Paul, ed. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Boston and NewYork Bedford / St. Martins, 1999.