While the reader is not told why the wedding guest needs to hear this tale, one suspects it is because he contemplates doing some great wrong at the wedding that he is planning to attend. The mariner therefore selected this person in order to give him the opportunity to change his behavior before it was too late.
The ancient mariner therefore represents the voice of God and an opportunity for men to win their own salvation. The ancient mariner becomes a symbol of the choices that man must make between the morally right and the morally wrong action. He illustrates the necessity of penance and reparation for the things that are done wrong. He is also an example of the saving grace of prayer.
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner."
In M.H. Abrams and Stephen Greenblatt, Editors.
The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York:
The Renaissance was a period of exploration in which many new directions, such as the advancement of humanistic and scientific knowledge, the discovery of new worlds, the continued growth of cities, and an unparalleled outburst of productivity in the arts took place (Fleming, 253). Humanistic scholars saw the Renaissance as an intellectual awakening after a long medieval night. They were interested in the rediscovery of the Greco-Roman classics in art, literature, and philosophy and in reinterpreting these documents and artifacts from a new viewpoint.
At the core of humanism was the belief that "nothing is more wonderful than man (Fleming, 253)." More broadly, humanism promoted a revival of interest in the affairs of the world, while reasserting the faith of men and women in themselves and reinforcing the role of individuals in all spheres. Writers, dramatists, visual artists, musicians, and architects all flourished and the nobility of Europe as well as the emerging wealthy merchant class competed to patronize the best of this new generation of ...