The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

One of Coleridge’s longest poems, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a ballad that follows an old sailor, who shoots an albatross – a bad omen – and is condemned to re-tell the tale of the tragic fate of his voyage to whoever he encounters. At once a tale of sin, guilt and atonement, the poem draws on the Gothic to explore questions of morality and the disruption of order.