The Sublime

In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Coleridge connects the spiritual/holy to the natural world to emphasise its connection to man. He suggests that the sublime is distanced from man by Society and its worldly pleasures leading man to abandon reverence for the otherworld. The Wedding Reception represents humankind's estrangement from the Holy even in the religious tradition of marriage.

The archaic definition of the word sublime is

“Elevate to a high degree of moral or spiritual purity or excellence” or

“That which is grand or noble in human nature or life; moral or spiritual excellence”

Both definitions refer to an achievement of moral and/or spiritual excellence, which can lead us to believe that Part IV in TROTAM alludes to the Ancient Mariner achieving sublimity through his realisation of the beauty in all of God’s creations—where the Mariner sees the beauty in the sea snakes- and his honest appreciation of these. This, in turn, rescinds the act of shooting the Albatross and frees the Mariner from his isolation. From this we can assume that the Mariner’s later penance is to teach people like his previous self to work towards achieving sublimity and to turn back from living a frivolous, unappreciative life. This brings us back to how the Wedding Guest reflects the early characterisation of the Mariner, leading to the Mariner stopping him outside the Wedding Feast to tell his story, as he is the one who most needs to hear it