STEP 5 Think further and prepare for your test: 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' as an allegory
Read the text which reflects on the various possible interpretations of the poem and decide if the statements are true or false. Then look at the prompts in brackets and write some extra reflections in your exercise book. You can use the final text as revision material for your test.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is not simply an extravagant, supernatural story of a man on a voyage; it is a profound allegory with multiple layers of meaning. (Refer to STEP 4 and the multiple symbols present in the poem to support this statement.)
Some critics, in line with Romanticism, believe the poem is about the spiritual interconnectedness of all living things. In this view, the Mariner's crime of killing the albatross is not just an attack on a bird, but a sin against a unifying divinity that exists in nature. The punishment that follows is seen as divine retribution for this profound moral and spiritual offense. (Refer to section 6.4 in your textbook and to the Romantics' view of nature.)
Other scholars interpret the poem as a commentary on the Industrial Revolution. They see the Mariner's act as an allegory for humanity's destructive power and its growing detachment from the natural world. The Mariner's punishment and the crew's suffering are then seen as a symbol of nature's revenge against mankind's exploitation.
Finally, a more personal interpretation views the poem as a parable of the creative imagination. The Mariner, a figure representing the artist, experiences a period of 'creative block' or stagnation (the still sea in Part II of the poem). His suffering and the telling of his tale are a necessary process for him to rediscover his voice and purpose. The poem's journey becomes a metaphor for the artist's own struggles and ultimate triumph in creating art. (Refer to section 6.10 in your textbook and Coleridge's theory of the imagination.)
A: The possible meanings of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner are many, but only one is generally accepted as valid.
B: According to the text, Romanticism suggests that nature and God are separate entities, and a crime against one does not affect the other.
C: One interpretation discussed in the text suggests that the Mariner and the crew's suffering symbolise nature's revenge against humanity's exploitation.
D: The interpretation that views the poem as a parable of the creative imagination sees the Mariner's struggles as a necessary step for him to regain his artistic voice.