The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

“It is an ancyent Marinere, / And he stoppeth one of three.” 

These are the first lines of the poem, and are spoken by the narrator. They highlight that, despite there being three people that he could have told his tale to, for some reason the Mariner only stops the one. As the Mariner essentially must do God’s bidding forever, retelling his tale over and over, here we see the power of the theological impressed upon the individual. 

“Listen, Stranger! Mist and Snow, / And it grew wond’rous cauld: / And Ice mast-high came floating by / As green as Emerauld.” 

This stanza highlights how nature can be both beautiful and terrible at the same time. It is also highlighting the pointlessness of man (the mundane) trying to exert power over nature (the sublime). 

“At length did cross an Albatross, / Thorough the Fog it came; / And an it were a Christian soul, / We hail’d it in God's name.”

“The Marineres gave it biscuit-worms,/ And round and round it flew: / The Ice did split with a Thunder-fit; / The helmsman steer’d us thro’” 

When the albatross materializes through the fog, it appears to be a miraculous occurrence: both natural and divine. The crew feed and play with the bird, believing it to be a good omen. The Sailors appreciate the bird, and the natural world seems to reward them for their recognition, as the ice splits and allows the ship to continue its journey.