The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

The Mariner tells the Wedding Guest that after he had killed the albatross, the winds continued to blow and the ship began moving north. The sailors berated the Mariner for what he had done. However, when the mists begin to fade, the sailors believe this is due to the killing of the bird, and they thank the Mariner for his murderous act.

The ship continues to sail, with a good breeze behind it and with good visibility. The wind then stops and the sea becomes very calm. Below a “hot and copper sky” and “the bloody sun,” the ship becomes stranded in the ocean (5). The Mariner and the sailors are left hot and with no water to drink.

With the ship completely stuck, and he and the sailors dry, hot, and thirsty, the Mariner calls out to Christ, out of the Mariner’s fear of the creatures crawling on the surface of the sea: “The very deeps did rot: O Christ! / That ever this should be! / Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs / Upon the slimy sea” (6). The Mariner believes that a supernatural spirit has followed them from the South Pole and is tormenting the ship.