Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Summary

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Argument: A poem about how a ship was driven passed the equator by storms “towards the South Pole” and into the Pacific Ocean and then “came back to his own Country.”

Part I: “An ancient Mariner” (1) stops a man going to a wedding. The mariner “holds” (9) the “Wedding Guest” (14) and tells him about “a ship” (10). He sailed past the equator. “The Wedding Guest” (31) is excited by the man’s story. The wedding music plays and “the Wed-ding Guest” (37) becomes impatient. A mighty “Storm” (41) comes and pushes the ship “south” (44) to Antarctica. There was now “mist…snow,” (51) “ice,” (53) “cold,” (52) and “snowy clifts” (55). “An Albatross” (63) appears, a welcome sign. It accompanied the ship and the “ice…split” (69), allowing for the “helmsman [to] steer…through” (70). The Mariner then “shot the Albatross” (82) with his “crossbow” (81).

Part II: The sailors were now going north, but there was not any “sweet bird…follow[ing]” (88), causing the other sailors to be angry with the Mariner because the Albatross “made the breeze to blow” (94). However, when the fog and mist cleared, they say, “‘twas right…such birds to slay” (101). There is a “fair breeze” (103) that blows the ship into the Pacific Ocean. Then the gods avenge the Albatross and the “breeze…dropped” (107), causing them to be stuck in the ocean “day after day” (115). The sailors believe “the Spirit [has] plagued” (132) them and “followed [them] from the land of mist and snow” (133-134). The sailors again blame the Mariner and force him to wear “the Albatross about [his] neck” (142).

Part III: The sailors become crazy and thirsty. The Mariner sees “a little speck” (149) in the west. The speck comes closer and the Mariner realizes that it’s “a sail” (161). The sailors are happy and begin to “drink” (166). The sailors believe the ship is going to “work [them] weal” (168), but it confuses them how the ship moves “without a breeze, without a tide” (169). The ship went behind the Sun and appeared “flecked with bars” (177). It appears that “Woman [is] all [the ship’s] crew” (187) and that “Death [is] woman’s mate” (189). The red-lipped, yellow-haired, white-skinned woman was “the Nightmare Life-in-Death” (193). She was playing a game of dice where the winners would take the souls of the sailors. She takes “four time fifty…men” (216) but leave the Mariner to a fate much worse.

Part IV: The Wedding Guest “fear[s]” (224) for the Mariner. The Mariner looked at “the many men…all dead did lie” (236–237) and at “the rotting sea” (240). The Mariner cannot forget “the look with which [the dead] looked on” (255) him. The Mariner had to see “the curse in a dead man’s eye” (260) for “seven days [and] seven nights” (261) and was forced to live. The Mariner then see the “slimy things” (238) in the water and sees their true beauty. The Spirit’s curse is free when the Mariner sees the “water snakes” (273) and “the Albatross fell off” (290) his neck and “into the sea” (291).

Part V: The Mariner regains the passion to life and so do “the silly buckets on the deck” (297). The Mariner is cleansed with rain and the winds come up again and shake “the sails” (311). “A hundred fire flags sheen” (314) in the air. “Lightning fell” (325) and “the dead men gave a groan” (330) and rose to life. The crew returns to their duties, with “the helmsman steer[ing] the ship” (335) and the sailors “all [beginning to] work the ropes” (337). However, the crew does not acknowledge the Mariner, scaring the Wedding Guest. The Mariner says that they were possessed by “spirits blessed” (349). Their voices came back eventually. The Mariner is now loves nature and enjoys the “little birds” (360) “jargoning” (362). The Spirit that carried the ship to the Equator “slid” (379) and the ship again “stood still” (382). The ship then encountered a strong storm and tossed the Mariner overboard. The Mariner was still alive on the beach of some land and heard “two voices in the air” (397). The first man asks if the Mariner is the man who “with his cruel bow…laid full low the harmless Albatross” (400–401). The second man says that the Mariner “hath penance done, and penance more will do” (408–409).

Part VI: The first man wonders what drives the ship “on so fast” (412). The second man replies that the Moon “graciously” (420) gave the ship fast speed. The first man still does not under-stand, so the second man says that the powers the Spirit cast on the ship caused it to move “faster than human life could endure.” The men go as the Mariner wakes up. “The dead man” (433) from the ship go onto the shore, relieving the death in their eyes. However, the “spell was snapped” (442) and the Mariner was able to see “the ocean green” (443). A wind started up and “welcom[ed]” (459) him to the land. In the distance, the ship flew swiftly (460). The Mariner looks around and discovers that he is in his “own countree” (467). He sees the harbor bay in its beauty. In the distance, there were all of the corpses with a “se-raph man” (490) next to each one. The Mariner then “heard the dash of oars… [and] the Pi-lot’s cheer” (500–501). He also heard “the Hermit good” (509) who will “shrieve [his] soul… [and] wash away the Albatross’s blood” (512–513).

Part VII: The Hermit “loves to talk with mariners” (517). The Hermit and the Pilot talk and dis-cuss how the “skiff boat” (523) boat is worn out with warped planks (529). The Pilot is afraid of the ship but the Hermit is not. “The ship…split the bay” (548) and suddenly sank. The Mar-iners found himself “lay afloat” (553) and then “within the Pilot’s boat” (555). The Mariner “moved [his] lips” (560), causing the Pilot to shriek and the Hermit to “raise…his eyes” (562). The Mariner “took the oars” (564) and asked the Hermit to shrieve him. The Mariner told the Hermit his tale, causing him to be free. To free him from his sin, the Hermit requires the Mariner to “pass, like night, from land to land” (586), telling his story. The wedding is just about to begin, causing the Mariner to tell the Wedding Guest to have a strong belief in God. The Mariner leaves and the Wedding Guest is “a sadder and wiser man” (624).