The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is a tale in which a simple action leads to a debacle of catastrophic events. When the sailor shoots the Albatross, a bird that has brought him and his sailors good fortune, he does so for no reason. In ancient Greek tragedies, hubris, or excessive pride, often leads to the inevitable downfall of the hero. Additionally, in the Catholic faith, pride is one of the greatest sins a person can commit. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner illustrates the good faith of these beliefs. Without any reason given to justify the senseless killing of the bird, it can be insinuated that the sailor's senseless killing of the bird could only have been out of hubris. His pleasure in slaying a great creature was fleeting, as punishment soon fell upon the sailors. Through his excessive pride, ingratitude, and ignorance of the wishes of others, the Mariner brought disaster upon himself and his crew. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Early in the tale, the Mariner stops a wedding guest to tell him the story of his defeat, as he is obliged to do. . In the story, the Mariner sails through an area of ​​mist and ice after being pushed by a storm. The crew faced great difficulties until an Albatross appeared, which cleared the fog and broke the ice to guide the ship safely through the sea. As the Mariner states: "The ice has broken with a clap of thunder; / The helmsman guided us! / And a good south wind rose behind…” (Norton 445). The Albatross, a large seabird, was considered an auspicious bird and was joyfully welcomed by the crew. However, the sailor ignored their gratitude: “May God save you, ancient sailor! Demons who torment you like this! —Why do you look like that? —With my crossbow, I shot the Albatross. (Norton 445-446) In the passage above, the wedding guest congratulates the sailor on his good fortune; however, the Mariner interrupts him with a single line. He provided no explanation for his actions or any reasonable reason why he would kill such a bird. It seems like a callous act to kill a creature that helped them survive. However, the Albatross is a large, rare seabird and killing a large creature is an act worth bragging about. So, against the wishes of his crew, he shot down the Albatross in hopes of achieving glory and status. The crew of the Mariner was outraged by the killing of the Albatross. They cried out against the crime committed: Because everyone said it, I had killed the bird that made the breeze blow. Ah miserable! they said, the bird to kill, which made the breeze blow! (Norton 446). The crew saw what the Mariner did not: that the slaughter of a creature that had helped them on their journey was a horrible crime. However, shortly after the Albatross' death, the fog cleared; this causes them to doubt the very belief they held so strongly: "'It was just,' said they, 'such birds to kill / That bring fog and mist" (Norton 446). Justifying the crime against a righteous creature, he named the crew as partners in crime. Thus, one must remain firm in one's beliefs, because if one hesitates, doubt can cause one's downfall. Soon after, the ship is plagued by a drought and the sea begins to teem with slimy creatures. The crew begins to fear that killing the Albatross will bring evil to them. They tried to shift the blame onto the sailor by forcing him to hang the dead albatross around his neck: "Instead of the cross, the albatross on myneck was hung” (Norton 447). This simple act of hanging the Albatross around his neck like a crucifix is ​​significant. Wearing a crucifix is ​​a proof of faith; the Albatross hangs from the sailor's neck in a grotesque imitation of faith. In reality, he wears the Albatross as a sign of pride and because his crew could not accept their own reproaches. It can even be taken further by insinuating that Coleridge is attempting to portray the Mariner as a false figure of Jesus. Just as Jesus Christ bore the sins of his people, the Mariner bears the sins of his crew. In this way, the crew hopes to escape judgment. However, the distribution of blame did not work. It soon becomes apparent that the blame one bears for a crime cannot be erased or transferred, for soon a ship commanded by the spirits Death and Nightmare Life in Death appears and one by one the entire crew dies. The Mariner describes this horror: “And every soul, it passed me by, / Like the whistle of my crossbow! » (Norton 449). Interestingly, the Mariner compares the shooting of the Albatross with his crossbow to the departure of the souls of his crew. The comparison made here implies that the Mariner associates the deaths of his sailors with his crime against the Albatross, and it is here that the reader first realizes that the Mariner feels guilty for his crime. This is further confirmed when he states: “And never did a saint have pity on / My soul in agony” (Norton 449). Since the Mariner actually committed the massacre, he suffers the worst punishment. As his crew dies around him, he does not, but is forced to live with his guilt. To illustrate the depth of his guilt, the Mariner states: “And a thousand thousand slimy things / Survived; and so am I” (Norton 450). However, in his guilt, he appreciates the water serpents and blesses them, and this small act redeems him. The Albatross that he wore around his neck like a grotesque trophy slipped from his neck and fell into the sea, like chains being lifted around him. When the sailor wakes up, his dead crew rises and begins to steer the ship. However, their bodies do not contain the souls they previously carried; instead, bodies are controlled by angelic spirits. The ship moves across the water with supernatural strength. After the Mariner passes out, he hears voices explaining the situation. He hears: “Is that him? » said one of them: “Is this the man? By him who died on the cross, With his cruel bow he brought down the harmless Albatross. (Norton 453-454) Again, the voice refers to Jesus Christ as the one who died on the cross so that the reader sees the Mariner as a grotesque comparison to Jesus. A second voice warns: “…'Man has done penance, / And yet more penance will do” (Norton 454), implying that the sailor's torment is not yet over. The sailor's sufferings continue after he reaches land. Out of compulsion, he tells his story to everyone he meets: “And until my horrible story is told, / This heart within me burns” (Norton 458). The reader might insinuate that this particular punishment is given to the sailor to serve. as a warning to others. By telling his story repeatedly, the Mariner shames himself. Again and again, the Mariner must admit his wrongdoing and reiterate what happened to his crew because of his hubris. Even the confession of crime is the opposite of pride, and it is for this reason that it is an appropriate punishment. Additionally, the spirit could have inflicted this punishment on the Mariner to raise awareness among others. This is illustrated when the sailor finishes telling his story to the wedding guest and he leaves the wedding stunned. Coleridge.