"The Rime of Ancient Mariner" as a Supernatural poem.

"The Rime of Ancient Mariner"

Supernatural elements are very common in the poems of S.T. Coleridge and also some other Romantic poets. Same thing we have seen in the poem The Rime of Ancient Mariner by S. T. Coleridge. We have seen a huge number of supernatural elements in this poem. For these supernatural elements, we can say that "The Rime of Ancient Mariner" is a Supernatural poem.

"The Rime of Ancient Mariner" as a Supernatural poem

S. T. Coleridge is the greatest English poet of supernaturalism and his The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is one of the best poems of supernatural ever written in English literature. The poet employs the supernatural elements in this poem in a convincing manner. As we go through the poems, there is a willing suspension of disbelief on our part.

The poem contains several impossible incidents, yet we feel inclined to believe what we read. A lot of unbelievable supernatural events have been incorporated in the poem. But Coleridge portrays these events in such a way that they might seem natural and believable to the readers.

Result of Killing Albatross

The story of the Ancient Mariner is an unbelievable one. Up to the killing of the Albatross, everything around the ship of the Ancient Mariner is natural, but after the killing, unbelievable and supernatural things begin to happen. First of all, Coleridge aroused the sense of supernatural mystery by transporting us to distant times and remote places. After the killing of the Albatross, the ship of the Mariner entered into a silent sea where the ship remained unmoving as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean.

Sufferings of Sailors

The appearance of the specter ship is a supernatural element. For the Albatross, the sailors had to suffer untold sufferings. They not a drop of drinking water. They were waiting for a ship to and to help them. At that time a skeleton ship comes with two supernatural figures on its deck. One of the figures is Death and the other is Life-in-Death. The poet describes a mood of uncanny fear in the minds of the readers by describing the physical appearance of the Life-in-Death.

Death of 200 Sailors

The manner of the death of two hundred sailors is also supernatural. Two hundred sailors drop down dead one by one so quickly that they could neither groan nor sigh. As each sailor drops down dead, his soul passes by the old sailor like the whiz of a

crossbow.

Regain the Life

The most supernatural event in the whole poem is the coming back to the life of the dead sailors. After the old sailor blesses the water snakes, his redemption begins and the ship is driven towards the home harbor by the Polar Spirit. At one point a group of Angels enters into the body of the dead sailors and the dead sailors rise to their feet and row the ship.

Manner of Falling the Dead Albatross

The manner of falling the dead Albatross from the Mariner's neck and the talking of the two voices in the air are equally supernatural events. For the killing of the Albatross, the other sailors blamed the old sailor and they hung the dead Albatross around his neck as a punishment. But when the old sailor blessed the water-snakes, the dead body of the albatross fell down into the sea automatically and :

The selfsame moment I could pray:

And from my neck so free

The Albatross fell off, and sank

Like lead into the sea.

Skeleton Ship

Thus Coleridge presented supernatural incidents in such a way they appeared to be real. In one stroke Coleridge presents a skeleton ship, the specter sea, the woman and her death mate, the coming back to the life of the ship's crew, and Polar Spirits talking to one another. But these supernatural incidents have not been left without their association with reality. With these supernatural incidents, the has artistically woven convincing pictures of Nature like the sun shining brightly, the mist and the snow surrounding the ship, the freezing cold of the Arctic region, the water-snakes moving in the water.

Conclusion

Thus the natural and the supernatural, the realistic and the fantastic, the possible and the impossible have been so artistically blended that the whole strikes us as quite convincing and credible.