Forms of Symbolism in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
             Samuel Taylor Coleridge joins together natural symbols such as the Albatross with religious symbols like Christ, to further lay emphasis on his belief that God is present everywhere in nature, and that the Mariner will be propelled into a state of delight, when he discovers his love for God. By using imagery from religious symbolism in nature, Coleridge creates a poem that articulates how the understanding of heavenly love within one's self has the power to repair pain and anguish. By representing the aspects of salvation with concepts of sea and penance, Coleridge makes his message of repentance and humility easier to understand.
             The Albatross itself is something very holy and the Mariner's crew "hails it in God's name," as a figure of good luck and fortune (Coleridge 699). The Albatross symbolizes Christ and his saintly appearance and virtues. For example, the Mariner senselessly slays the Albatross without giving good reasons why he chooses to do so, just as man judges Christ, whose perfections are evident. Even though Christ represents mankind's one chance at achieving eternal life in Heaven, man continues to persecute Him. The Albatross symbolizes the sailors' one chance at deliverance from icy death and the Mariner destroys all chances of salvation when he kills it. In this example, the reader agrees with Robert Penn Warren's understanding "that the shooting of the Albatross symbolizes original sin against God" and that the act serves as an evil wrongdoing (qtd. in Perkins). Look at the extraordinary weather that appears throughout much of the poem. At the beginning of the voyage the Mariner's ship sails with fair breezes and perfect weather conditions and everything is moving along smoothly. The poem and the weather suddenly take a drastic turn and the ship is being driven by stormy winds towards the South Pole. T...