The ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, a poem by Samuel Coleridge, highlights the travails of a sailor who has just returned from a long sea voyage. Coleridge uses different symbols to show the severity of the situation the reader needs to anticipate in the poem. The poet reveals how the Mariner’s ship encounters a strong storm while at sea which makes him and his crew sail southwards towards Antarctica. An albatross which helps them sail out of Antarctica is shot down by the Mariner.
The albatross is used in the poem as a symbol of both good and bad fortune, which the mariner and fellow crew members experience during their voyage. The Mariner is made to wear the albatross round his neck by other crew members as a punishment for his mistakes. Coleridge manages to set a somber tone in the poem which displays the ill fate crew members will encounter while sailing at sea.
Coleridge sticks with a melancholic tone as the Mariner together with other crew members come across a ghostly ship. A woman on the ship is used to show the thin line between life and death. She gambles with the lives of all crew members on the ship and manages to condemn them to death.
Coleridge manages to show the enduring spirit of the Mariner who prays and the albatross falls off his neck. The poet shows the power of good over evil because the Mariner’s prayer makes the crew rise from the dead and later steer the ship to safe waters. This is an allusion similar to extra ordinary feats in the bible which show the supernatural power of God. Later on, the ship capsizes in a whirlpool where all crew members except the Mariner lose their lives.
The ‘Ode to the West Wind’ by Percy Shelley, shows how nature regenerates to bring forth a fresh life. Shelley uses the wind as a metaphor which spreads fresh ideas that enable people embrace the concept of change in their lives. The poet uses a unique stylistic approach which helps to interpret the strong metaphorical ideas used in the poem.
The poet uses agents of nature to show how change and new ideas travel fast and their remarkable effects on human beings. He uses descriptive language to show how various agents of nature such as wind, clouds, oceans, forests and other living things impact on life on planet earth. The poem reveals that he is inspired by spiritual elements of nature which is evident in the language he uses in the poem.
Shelley manages to relate different concepts of nature by using metaphorical phrases with strong meanings. He uses clouds to show they are crucial to the formation of rain. These clouds are used to portray how people’s anticipation for change to take place can make them take charge of their own destiny.
Shelley uses the wind to show how revolutionary ideas help to change systems which have been entrenched for long periods of time. The poet manages to show how he aspires to be an agent of change in different parts of the society. He assumes another persona where he displays himself as a supernatural being whose spirit will help nurture new lives in the world. The poem reveals that the poet’s perceptions of life are driven by fantasies whose relevance cannot be estimated.