Monday, September 21, 2015

How is the theme of imprisionment depicted throughout "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"?

Note the way that the theme of imprisonment enters this
excellent poem immediately after the Mariner shoots the albatross. Note the way in which
the action of the Mariner effectively imprisons the sailors on the ship, as the mystical
absence of any wind prevents them from moving:


readability="12">

Day after day, day after
day,


We stuck, nor breath nor
motion;


As idle as a painted
ship


Upon a painted
ocean.



This imprisonment is
something that lasts for a very long time, until after the Mariner's curse is expiated.
Note the way that he, after all of his fellow sailors die, is imprisoned on the ship by
himself and left to face the ghoulish and nightmarish events that happen around him.
Even after he gets back safely to land, and watches the destruction of his ship, he is
still "imprisoned" as he bears the burden of his experiences, and feels doomed to live
his life wandering around recounting his tale:


readability="14">

I pass, like night, from land to
land;


I have strange power of
speech;


That moment that his face I
see,


I konw the man that must hear
me:


To him my tale I
teach.



From the moment that
the Mariner shoots the albatross, therefore, it is obvious that he suffers a feeling of
imprisonment. Firstly this is based on the lack of wind that prevents the ship from
moving anywhere, and then secondly the way in which his experiences are not forgotten
and compel him to wander around the earth and recount his tale.

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