sin of the mariner

If a really old guy grizzled guy makes you listen to a story when you are trying to get to your car, you might want to listen to him. Chances are the story will be about guilt, sin, and redemption. The mariner's narrative takes this path beginning with his transgression for killing the albatross: the albatross that brings luck and wind to their sails. The cosmic punishment for this transgression is harsh. The men on the ship suffer greatly. The Mariner is the only survivor but he must forever remain in a penance for his sins. Part of this penance seems to be stopping strangers and making them listen to his story. The Mariner's sin demanded that he wear the bird around his neck . The Mariner must endure ghosts, thirst , and zombie sailors. It is not until the Mariner opens his heart to the sanctity of life that he finds some redemption. The mariner sees the water snakes as beautiful:

O happy living things! no tongue

Their beauty might declare:

A spring of love gushed from my heart,

And I blessed them unaware:

Sure my kind saint took pity on me,

And I blessed them unaware.

This revelation releases the Mariner from the albatross around his neck but he must still tell his story to those who will listen.