The Fantastical Inspirations for "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"

            After reading “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, Coleridge’s interests and ethics have become much more clear. He has a particular interest in ancient stories and the act of storytelling. This is apparent when he describes the wedding guest listening to the Old Mariner “like a three years child.” He believes it is valuable to listen and learn from your elders, and describes the wedding guest as “a sadder and a wiser man” rising from “the morrow morn” after hearing the Old Mariner’s story. Coleridge also must believe in supernatural beings due to the wedding guest’s questioning of whether the Mariner is a ghost or not. He exclaims, “I fear thee, ancient mariner!” and “thy skinny hand!”

            The poem went against the unrhymed language of traditional romantic writing, but held many of the themes commonly associated with the era. One such theme is the focus on the importance of experiences. The story is told largely from the Ancient Mariners perspective, highlighting the value of individuality. The romantic era of writing was among the first to focus a literary work on the storytelling of one major character. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner also exemplifies holiness in nature. Coleridge places the old mariner in the open ocean for the setting of the poem, making him seem small and vulnerable in comparison to the vast ocean. Nature is a spiritual element in this poem.

            The Rime of the Ancient Mariner was inspired by a number of historical narratives such as Captain James Cook's voyages, the legend of the Wandering Jew, and Captain George Shelvocke's 1726 “A Voyage 'Round the World”. In  “A Voyage 'Round the World”, a shipmate is said to have shot an albatross. This also occurs in Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Others claim the poem was inspired by a dream or that it was written while Coleridge was under the influence of opium.

            Coleridge struggled with an addiction to opium most of his life. It affected his social life and his career as a writer. In 1814, he separated from his wife and put himself in the care of a doctor. One of his most famous poems “Kubla Khan” was believed to have been written from an opium-induced dream. Evidence suggests that “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” may have been as well. During his sailing adventure, the old mariner and his crew are blown off course. They are eventually faced with dehydration and starvation. While lost at sea, they encounter an eerie ghost ship occupied by Death and Life-in-death.  These two ghosts play dice for the souls of the crew. The mystical nature of this poem and its supernatural elements would be difficult to come up with unless under the influence of opium. These imaginative elements marked a shift away from realism that began during the Romantic Era in literature.

            Coleridge’s literary devices help add to the fantasy elements and depth of the poem. He employs imagery to ignite the reader’s imagination. The imagery of “water snakes” and their reflective colors is one such example.