Historical Context in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
The poem was first published in 1798, in the popular “Lyrical Ballads” and is widely regarded as Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s seminal work. Coleridge was a notable leader of the British Romantic Movement, and characteristics of this movement strongly informed his writing. Romanticism developed in response to the Enlightenment, which prized rationalism and logic, and valued passion, emotion, and imagination. This can be seen explicitly in “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” which acts, quite simply, as a cautionary tale of distancing one’s self from nature and the which stresses the importance of spirituality and belief.
Historical Context Examples in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner:
""Why this is strange, I trow!..."See in text(The Rime of the Ancient Mariner in Seven Parts)
“Trow” is an archaic form of “think” or “believe.” In this case, the Pilot and Hermit are surprised by how quickly the boat came to shore in such a broken-down state.
"It is the Hermit good!
He singeth loud his godly hymns
That he makes in the wood.
He'll shrieve my soul, he'll wash away
The Albatross's blood...."See in text(The Rime of the Ancient Mariner in Seven Parts)
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.
"is this indeed
The light-house top I see?
Is this the hill? is this the kirk?
Is this mine own countree!..."See in text(The Rime of the Ancient Mariner in Seven Parts)
In a miraculously short amount of time, the Mariner returns to his homeland, presumably in the British Isles. He sees a familiar hill and “kirk”—a Scottish or northern English word for a church.
"And southward aye we fled...."See in text(The Rime of the Ancient Mariner in Seven Parts)
So far, this poem has consisted of four-line stanzas, called quatrains, with a rhyme structure of ABCB. Coleridge deliberately breaks this style in this stanza and in several other places later on to demonstrate that he values content and meaning more than form and structure. This is significant because this poem and the larger collection it was published in, Lyrical Ballads, marked a significant transition in writing style away from classical poetic elements to the more modern, romantic period in British literature.
