The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

The theme of this poem is sin and redemption. The reason I say this is the theme is because after the ancient mariner commits a sin by killing the albatross he is haunted by guilt and supernatural phenomena. The ancient mariner has a change of heart and wrongdoing out of nowhere and than confesses to the Hermit of what he did. After confessing he than carries out a penance which is to tell his tale to many strangers. The romantic literature that is evident in the poem that I notice is idealism. Idealism emphasizes the spirit, the mind, or language over matter. The spirit wanted to make the mariner pay for killing the albatross because the spirit loved it. The spirit than corrupts the mariner's brain and causes him to see illusions and horrifying events.