symbolism in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"

       Samuel Taylor Coleridge writes in a manner that incorporates deep and intriguing symbolism. In his poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” there are several instances in which there is a deeper meaning behind the words he puts on paper. One instance that I found very symbolic occurred after the mariner was stranded in the ocean as a punishment for killing the albatross. The narrator says, “Ah! Well-a-day! What evil looks/had I from old and young!/instead of the cross, the Albatross/about my neck was hung” (Coleridge 1619). This is incredibly symbolic of the biblical interpretation of sin, punishment, and repentance. Coleridge focuses a large part of the plot on the basis of sin, and this set of lines summarizes his ideas of religion in this story entirely. When a cross is carried on one’s neck, it is like that person is carrying the burden of their sins. However, Coleridge replaces the cross with the actual albatross that the mariner killed, and immediately after the sailors place it around his neck, they all begin to die. The albatross acts as a symbol of an omen for both good and bad luck, but the fact that it replaces a cross as a physical burden of sin is extremely symbolic of Coleridge’s desire to incorporate religion into his writing. He also uses colors in many descriptions to provide for a symbolic representation of the person or thing that he is describing. When describing a woman, he says “her lips were red, her looks were free,/her locks were yellow as gold:/her skin as white as leprosy” (Coleridge 1621). After seeing this description, I can actually visualize this woman in my head. He uses simple colors, but the effects of the colors as a description are so powerfully symbolic. Right after stating that death is the woman’s mate, Coleridge describes her lips as red which symbolizes blood. The yellow symbolizes hazard, and the white symbolizes cheerlessness. All of these colors lead to the conclusion that bad fortune is to fall on the sailors, and death is inevitable. Coleridge’s language is very symbolic and it allows the reader to get more out of the poem because of the intense depth of the language.

The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8th ed. Eds. Stephen Greenblatt et al. Vol A. New York, NY: W.W. Norton& Company, Inc., 2006. 1615-1632. Print.