Allusion in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

In Arthurian legends and other British myths, hermits are often associated with monastic orders that separate themselves from the rest of society for religious reasons. In this case, the Hermit stands in for God on the Mariner’s behalf to “shrieve,” or free, his soul from sin or guilt. This action continues the theme of religious guilt and atonement present throughout most of the poem.

Once the reanimated bodies of the crewmates fall back dead on the deck of the ship, a “seraph-man,” stands where “every corse,” or corpse, once stood. According to the Bible, a “seraph” is the singular form for “seraphim,” an order of six-winged angels depicted in Isaiah 6:2-3 as flying about the throne of God and singing his praises. The image is so surprising that the Mariner references the “holy rood,” or cross, in his exclamation in line 489.

The sailors ultimately blame the Mariner for their bad luck. As punishment, they make him wear the bird around his neck as a reminder of his crime. It is also a symbol of the burden of sin, and Coleridge is deliberately drawing a comparison between the Albatross and the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified.

By comparing the seabird to a Christian soul and describing how the bird helps get the ship to safety in the next stanza, Coleridge creates an allusion to the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark, in which a dove leads the ark to safety. Allusions occur when the author indirectly refers to a different story and leaves it up to the reader to make the connection.