Amazing Grace: A Story Of Salvation In Rime Of The Ancient Mariner By Samuel Taylor Coleridge

A lot of what we see today in literature was more or less influenced by a piece of work before it. Jane Austen and her book Pride and Prejudice sparked a whole wave of adaptations and influenced the literature culture for centuries since its release date in 1813. Austen’s work was able to help develop spin-off ideas such as 2007’s television series Atonement and even paranormal modifications like 2016’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Whether works such as these are direct remakes or new stories with the same conceptualization- anyone with the power of a story can influence literature for years to come. Another prime example of this can go for the song Amazing Grace, written by John Newton in 1779. Being an extremely renowned song and easily recognizable by many, the song could be theoretically tied to Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Although it is not explicitly said that these two pieces of literature are tied, a story of soul renewal, the religious undertones, and the overall message of salvation all contribute to the same overall structure and familiarity.

Both of these poems hold a significant amount of similarity throughout their postulation. Both of them tell a tale of sailors out at sea- but more so have underlying connections through religious aspects. It is not every day that one finds his or herself aboard a ship, sailing through misty icebound water into the clutches of death himself. Accepting fate with physical state depletion, it seems that only something supernatural can save them in their final moments. While it seems impossible, Samuel Taylor Coleridge wants the readers to have hope. The poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner describes the horrific tragedy turned extramundane, bringing life to a soul in despair. This true Amazing Grace tale hits heavy on Christian themes, which guides the Mariner to triumph- but with a cost. Curses, phantoms, and the undead are no match for the Mariner, who comes to the light after recognizing that good will triumph over evil. This revelation helps him to accept God’s work in nature, and thus he lives on to tell his tale to all that will listen. In John Newton’s Amazing Grace, Newton speaks from personal experience. Newtons message is that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of sins committed. One’s soul can be delivered from evil through the mercy of God- and that is exactly what happened to Newton. Not surprisingly, Amazing Grace is one of the most recognizable hymn/poems in the English language. We get a first-person view of Newton out upon the sea, who hears the holy and glorifying voice of God calling him back to the light. His “wretched soul was once lost... was blind, but now (can) see” (Newton). While both of these poems carry lots of messages on redemption, the structure of both are what give it the same feel as well.

How the two sailors got into their position is also a similarity in of its own. Newton wrote Amazing Grace after being aboard his own slave ship. He had grown up “without any particular religious conviction” and continued his life that way until a fateful day out at sea (Questions.net). A storm had eradicated his ship, causing him to call out for help from the heavens above. God answered, pulling him into a spiritual conversion. In Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Coleridge follows very closely in the steps that Newton had taken. It is not known if the ancient Mariner was devoted to any such religion, but on one pivotal day, the Mariner shot an Albatross. The Albatross, being an innocent bird of good omen, brought everything but that when it was killed. The Mariner was then cursed, and evil events soon followed. He too, was a wretched soul lost at sea. This was until he watched water snakes beyond the shadow of his ship one night. Such creatures have brought disgust and anguish to the Mariner before, but now, he begins to cherish them for what they truly are. “A spring of love gush’d from my heart, and I bless them unaware: Sure my kind saint took pity on me” (Coleridge 285-287). Following then, comes a rain shower from the blessed Virgin Mary as a baptism of renewal- much like the rain storm that Newton was caught in. As these two stories mimic each other in concept, there is also much more behind the ideas.

Aside from the conversion parts of the two stories, there are also other sequences that makes these two pieces of literature line up. Newton’s poem was written in 1779 and Coleridge wrote his in 1798. The two were published just under twenty years apart from each either, so one could say that the two could be connected because of their close publishing dates. The people during that age knew of these similar messages, therefore showing that Coleridge could have wrote Rime of the Ancient Mariner because of what he saw in Newtons work. After reading the two, one can confirm that both Newton and Coleridge wanted to spread the word of salvation. Newton writes “T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear...And Grace, my fears relieved… How precious did that grace appear… The hour I first believed” (Newton 5-8). In this excerpt, our sailor tells the world in hymn of what Christians believe is the greatest story of salvation in history. These lines show Newtons wretched soul is saved from fate that would await him if it weren’t for Gods grace and mercy that rescued him from the clutches of evil. On the flip side, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is based on the theme of sin and regret. The Mariner killed an albatross without any given reason. He had no respect for nature, and thus killed the Albatross out of instinct. Unfortunately, this goes badly for him as he regrets upon his sinful act and is cursed by his fellow-mates. The poem conveys the meaning of sin for Christians. As we may not see exactly what it was that Newton had done to feel the way that he did in Amazing Grace, readers can see how he must’ve felt in Coleridge’s work. They both wanted readers to realize that salvation and recognizing God as the savior can help propel you to a holy lifestyle. “He prayeth best, who loveth best, all things both great and small; For the dear God who loveth us, he made and loveth all” (Coleridge 615-618).

Although it has not been explicitly confirmed that the two of these works of literature are directly connected, one can argue that the two follow similar stories and bring about the same overall message and structure. The Mariner shot and killed an innocent Albatross, bringing horrific curses upon him and his crew. After admitting that the killing of an innocent bird was wrong and developing a sensational appreciation for God’s creation and nature, he was spared his life. On the other end, Newton hauled innocent slaves, and after recognizing what he had been doing all along was wrong, was brought into Gods saving grace. No, these two stories are not connected, but they are undoubtedly similar in their own ways through the overall message of salvation.