Coleridge's Treatment of the Supernatural in the Ancient Mariner

The Ancient Mariner is the story of a real-life sea voyage pervaded by a supernatural atmosphere. There is an eeriness in the hypnotic eyes of the Mariner, the spectral ship with Death and nightmare Life-in Death as its crew dicing on the deck, the winds that sound but never come near, the Polar spirit, the angelic spirits entering the corpses of the mariners and activating them, and the Mariner’s ship sinking mysteriously with a thundering sound coming from under the water. Terror is produced by Coleridge’s ability to provide visual descriptions of striking vividness.
The story with its supernatural trappings is obviously incredible, but within this framework there is the human reality.

“God save thee, ancient mariner
From the fiends that plague you thus”.

Here Coleridge vividly presents the supernatural issues by dwelling upon the hideous contortions on the face of the Mariner. And it is by drawing our attention to the terror-stricken feelings manifested on his face that the poet convinces us of the reality of the experience. We would certainly refuse to accept the supernatural details as real, but there is no mistaking the downright inevitable gush of frightful feelings and sensations evoked by the supernatural powers, as when the Mariner says

“Fear at my heart, as at a cup,
My life blood seemed to sip”.

The feelings evoked are very much real. Coleridge’s treatment of the supernatural is, therefore, psychological.

The Ancient Mariner thus fulfils Coleridge’s part of the joint bargain in Lyrical Ballads – to treat subjects “supernatural or at least romantic”, but to make them credible by truth to human nature and feeling, so as to cause “that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment that constitutes poetic faith”.

The influence of the supernatural has been brought to bear not only on human nature but on phenomenal Nature also. Coleridge makes the natural seem supernatural by ascribing to Nature something of the special power and proficiency of the supernatural. The storm in part V is like a fantastic death’s dance. The tropical sunset comes rushing with a single gigantic stride. Even the ice has got a terrific presence:

“It creaked and growled, and roared and howled,
Like noises in a swound”.

The persistence of natural laws in the midst of the supernatural convulsions helps us to retain our grip over reality. And, of course, the figure of the wedding guest is a permanent link with the world of reality.

Coleridge's Treatment of the Supernatural in the Ancient Mariner