To even know the heights of this joy the romantics believe that a person must also experience the depths of sorrow. States of being such as joy and sorrow are interdependent where one cannot be known without knowledge of the other. Wordsworth experiences this process in “Resolution and Independence” sharing, “of joy in minds that can no further go, / As high in our dejection do we sink as low” (281). After a point of complete ecstasy Wordsworth soon finds himself in the depths of despair with a troubled heart. The phrases “as we have moun

When Wordsworth recognizes that the leech gatherer lives life to the fullest, regardless of the circumstances, Wordsworth’s fears are diminished and joy returns. He states, “I could have laughed myself to scorn to find / In that decrepit Man so firm a mind” (137-138). One of Wordsworth’s greatest fears is insanity. He is able to observe in the leech gatherer a sound mind apart from the poor condition of his body. Wordsworth knows that he must keep a grateful heart and continually live his life to the very fullest that he can in order to keep his joy.

The ancient mariner’s independent spirit soon spreads to the other ship members causing them to forfeit not only their joy but their actual lives. At first the crew is angry with the mariner and exclaim that he “has killed the bird / that made the breeze blow”(93-94). They recognize that the hand of the divine and of nature was upon that bird and it was meant to make a way for them through the sea. But their desire for independence hardens their once grateful hearts and the crew turns to discount the provision of the divine. With this purposeful disconnection the unity on the ship is broken, joy is robbed, and the crew in turn grumbles at the bird believing that it brought the original “fog and mist” (100). This obscurity of the truth places the crew outside of the protection and favor of the divine and of nature.

For Wordsworth the loss of joy starts with “fear and fancies,” “dim sadness and blind thoughts” (27-28). This fall begins in the mind and comes upon him suddenly with little warning. We can see that because the sadness is dim in nature, only whispering and taunting, this feeling has not completely overcome him. Described as “blind,” these thoughts seem somewhat unidentifiable and are distracting enough to cloud Wordsworth’s vision and keep him from fully functioning in this world of beauty. Joy is robbed when the fear of the unknown or unforeseen overcomes us.

To purposefully put oneself outside of the connection is to enter into “Romantic Hell,” and Coleridge makes it known that this could lead to physical death. As “the sails dropt down” the ship stops as the wind, symbolizing the breath of the divine, is cut off. The “hot and copper sky” dries up the environment and leaves the ship sitting stagnantly in the water. By disconnecting from nature and the divine it is as if the crew had made themselves enemies of both nature and the divine. They cannot live outside of this protection.

In order to find redemption and once again be restored to nature, mankind, and the divine, the ancient mariner reconnects by finding beauty in that which once brought him disgust. So overwhelmed is

Some topics in this essay:
Ancient Mariner”, Hell” Coleridge, , Providence Unity, nature divine, ancient mariner, leech gatherer’s, leech gatherer, divine nature, William Wordsworth’s, loss joy, wordsworth’s fears, outside protection, joy robbed, Taylor Coleridge’s, favor divine nature, truth crew, mariner nature divine, divine nature purposefully, ancient mariner sends, mariner sends message,