Rime of the Ancient Mariner

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Larkin Pipes White Honors English 10 April 28, 2013 Sin revealed in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” It is human nature to sin and without imperfection humans would live in an immaculate world with no need for God. Coleridge’s narrative poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” follows a lost sailor who has a spiritual transformation after killing an innocent bird. The poem breaks down sin, and elaborates on the narrator’s punishment, redemption, and transformation. The Mariner commits a sin against nature when he murders an impeccable albatross. He kills the pristine creature “without apparent premeditation or conscious motive” (Bloom 207). No thought is put into the mariner’s action, and this results in a lethal decision to shoot the animal. Actions are frequently uncontrollable, which leads to sinning for no apparent reason. The narrator separates himself from God and nature by committing the crime (Ruby 147). Sin is like a curtain that blocks the light of God from the people who need it most. He becomes literally and figuratively lost at sea, and his sins weigh him down like an anchor. Because the Mariner lives “in an ordered universe where crime leads to suffering”, he is immediately punished for his sins (Modiano 150). God proves his command over nature when he puts the wind to a halt, causing the ship to become static. The “copper sky” and “bloody sun” physically drain the accompanying sailors until they become too exhausted to wake up leaving the Mariner in agonizing isolation (Coleridge 111, 112). Ironically, the crewmen die from lack of hydration even though they are surrounded by water. Likewise, humans can drink endless amounts of water, but the only way to quench the thirst of the soul is through Jesus. A reminder that our actions not only affect us, but the people around us too, is the dead sailors. Sin has a ripple affect that leads to
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