Ancient Mariner Allegory
“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” seems like it could be a Christian allegory. It starts off with a Mariner, who represents all people. He gives his testimony, or story, of how he was saved. In the beginning of his tale he reports that he was sailing smoothly. A great storm rolls in on him and he does not see a clear path out. The albatross finds him and guides him out of the storm, just like Jesus guides each person through their hard times. As long as the man follows the albatross, the bird brings smooth sailing. If a troubled person follows Jesus, he will make their life great. Just from the beginning here, it is clear to the reader that this story must be symbolism for a Christian’s journey through life and how their lives will start to
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Similarly, the people around a Christian can persuade them that God is bringing nothing but trouble and convince them out of believing in Jesus’ helpfulness. So the Mariner kills the bird—just like a person might abandon and turn from Jesus—and his situation takes a drastic turn for the worst. Without the bird the wind dies, the boat stops, and the Mariner starts to starve. When individuals abandon Jesus times get hard and their lives come to a troubled stand still. This Mariner ties the albatross to his neck and wears it to remind him of what he did and its consequences. This becomes an emotionally heavy burden for him to carry. He feels the weight of it and he feels guilty for what he has done. We too hold heavy burdens when we are by ourselves and push Jesus away or “kill” him. The Mariner’s situation starts to go bad as all his shipmates are killed and he himself slowly starts to die. He starves and becomes dehydrated but is kept alive by a mysterious character. This is just like how even in a man’s worst times; God still looks over that man and keeps him going. The narrator suffers immensely and goes through some horrible trials, all of which seem to come from another mysterious being. This villain could be expressed as Satan, giving somebody hard times but not ever overpowering God’s will for them to
Similarly, the people around a Christian can persuade them that God is bringing nothing but trouble and convince them out of believing in Jesus’ helpfulness. So the Mariner kills the bird—just like a person might abandon and turn from Jesus—and his situation takes a drastic turn for the worst. Without the bird the wind dies, the boat stops, and the Mariner starts to starve. When individuals abandon Jesus times get hard and their lives come to a troubled stand still. This Mariner ties the albatross to his neck and wears it to remind him of what he did and its consequences. This becomes an emotionally heavy burden for him to carry. He feels the weight of it and he feels guilty for what he has done. We too hold heavy burdens when we are by ourselves and push Jesus away or “kill” him. The Mariner’s situation starts to go bad as all his shipmates are killed and he himself slowly starts to die. He starves and becomes dehydrated but is kept alive by a mysterious character. This is just like how even in a man’s worst times; God still looks over that man and keeps him going. The narrator suffers immensely and goes through some horrible trials, all of which seem to come from another mysterious being. This villain could be expressed as Satan, giving somebody hard times but not ever overpowering God’s will for them to