The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The Rime of Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge | 1798 | Macmillan | Hardcover $ 14.99

In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, one of the best-known and best-loved poems in the English language, a grizzled old sailor stops a man on his way to a wedding and tells a terrifying story. He speaks of how he doomed the crew of his ship by shooting dead an albatross, awakened the wrath of ocean spirits, met Death himself, and must now walk the earth forever and share his tragic tale of sin, guilt and – ultimately – redemption.

I’ve recently been making an effort to read a little more poetry. Thing is, I don’t really vibe with poetry. I want to. I admire it as a form. Other people who are more intelligent or more interesting than me seem to like it. So I keep trying. But I often feel like someone who has walked into an art museum without the least idea of how a painting or a photograph or a sculpture works — just an impression that, oh yes, this is what the world calls fine art, I can see that it looks nice… and that’s it.

I wanted to read this poem in particular because it’s so frequently quoted and referenced in other works and even just in the vernacular sometimes. The common metaphor of an albatross as a personal burden of shame comes from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It’s clearly had a massive impact on our culture; I probably ought to have read it a long time ago already.

I more or less enjoyed reading this one. The poem had a way of inducing a kind of irresistible mood, by turns eerie and somber. But having finished it a couple of weeks ago as of this writing, I can remember how the poem made me feel… but I couldn’t tell you what it’s really about. I mean, yes, the basic storyline is pretty straightforward; sailor shoots a bird, dooms his ship and himself. But any deeper meaning is apparently beyond my ability to see without assistance. I ended up reading quite a few pieces of commentary on + interpretations of The Rime, and still feel rather like that bemused-but-having-an-nice-time art museum visitor.

As an aside, I have to admit that when I sat down to write up this little review I had to pause to look up the author’s correct name multiple times! I like to listen to a classical music radio station which pretty frequently features works by composer Samuel Coleridge Taylor (who was named after Samuel Taylor Coleridge, naturally), and just seeing that composer’s name more frequently than the poet’s seems to have thrown my dotty little neurons through a loop. Feel free to have a laugh at my expense.

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Links:

• The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Big Read from The Arts Institute, University of Plymouth
• Biography of Samuel Taylor Coleridge from the Poetry Foundation
• Public domain poem available from the Academy of American Poets
• Illustrations by Gustave Doré from the University at Buffalo Libraries Digital Collections, incl. for The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Publication information: Colerdige, Samuel Taylor. The rime of the ancient mariner. London, UK: Macmillan Collector’s Library, 2017. Print.
Source: Public library.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.