Introduction
From the Labyrinthine Maze to the volatile path of societal evolution, the mariner navigates through a maze of moral uncertainty and existential unpredictability, confronting the consequences of his actions and eventually finding redemption through contemplation and development. In order to illustrate the new postmodern uncovered layers of meaning and complexity, the narrative poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” portrays how postmodern elements alter the overall interpretation of a literary work. Disrupting the natural order of time, blurring lines of fiction and reality, and drawing on other sources to enhance the thematic intricacy support the overall message that exhibits the changes that occur when a piece of work is viewed from a postmodern lens.
Summary of Element One - Fragmentation
Links to Postmodernism in Your Literary Tradition Text
Fragmentation temporal disproportion refers to deliberately manipulating the chronological sequence of events, creating a disjointed or non-linear narrative structure. As a postmodern reader, I can determine that fragmentation appears in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" illustrated through the disjunctive plotline. This is demonstrated when the speaker sees a “strange shape drove suddenly betwixt us and the sun” which encourages the audience to contemplate the interruption of the natural order (Coleridge, 3). Since this quote showcases disrupted and isolated events that do not align with the traditional straightforward narrative, it exhibits key traits of fragmentation. Comparable to the theme of the sublime, this strange shape represents the unknown forces of the supernatural creating awe and wonder in the face of something beyond the speaker’s understanding. The act of something unfamiliar causes disorientation and uncertainty, which is not only a common factor in the themes of the sublime but also in fragmentation.
Links to Postmodern Media Sources
To further prove that fragmentation appears in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” we can make connections to other sources like “Pyramid Song” by Radiohead, where the speaker “jump[s] in the river” and journeys through an underwater city where the landscapes symbolize submerged memories or forgotten moments and the shifting time signatures and unusual rhythms evoke a sense of unpredictability (Radiohead, l. 1). While the song plays, the music video shows multiple bizarre and mixed up shots, such as underwater landscapes, dark figures, and dreamy sceneries. Fragmentation also presents itself in Tatyana Tolstaya’s short story "Unnecessary Things" The narrator starts the story by speaking of a cherished teddy bear in her childhood and then explains how a “lifetime went by” (Tolstaya, 1). Highlighting the nonlinear nature of memory and the passage of time conveys to the audience that there was a disconnection in the flow of the narrative. The poem "Orestes" by Perfect Circle utilizes disjointed phrases like “keep me from killing you” and repetitive phases such as “snip away and sever this umbilical residue” to mirror the speaker’s challenges to sort out their experiences and try to find peace in a sea of chaos (Prefect Circle, 17-18). This postmodern element highlights the complicated emotional journey and emphasizes themes of inner disarray and self-discovery. The fragmentation emphasizes different elements of the narrative and evokes varied interpretations, encouraging the audience to interact with the piece in many ways.
My Take 1
All examples exhibit time jumps or disjointed phrases that do not follow the traditional linear plotline and are unconventional in formatting. While all examples illustrate fragmentation, each of the techniques does it differently. This demonstrates that all the techniques encourage the reader to reflect on the interruption of the traditional literary order structure while actively showcasing how the different pieces of the postmodern element alter the meaning of the narrative poem.
Summary of Element Two - Metafiction
Links to Postmodernism in Your Literary Tradition Text
Metafiction is determined by the literary narrative presenting that it reflects on its own creation which explores the nature of storytelling and blurs the lines between fiction and reality. “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” demonstrates metafiction when the Mariner directly addresses the wedding guest by describing that “‘there was a ship’ quoth he” conveying the creation of a self-aware moment where the audience is reminded of the storyteller’s presence (Coleridge, 1). The portrayal of this interruption where the Mariner breaks the fourth wall and acknowledges the presence of the reader in the form of the wedding guest draws attention to the act of storytelling. This blurs the line between fiction and reality, which is one of the main factors of metafiction. However, the quality of the romantic hero and the anti-hero appears in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” when the Mariner sets out on a journey of redemption representing the romantic hero’s quest and struggling with guilt and moral ambiguity representing anti-hero aspects. Although both themes present elements of storytelling, character, and narrative complexity, “The Romantic Hero & the Anti-Hero” focuses on character archetypes and moral dilemmas within the narrative, whereas metafiction emphasizes self-awareness and commentary on storytelling itself.
Links to Postmodern Media Sources
To provide additional evidence that metafiction occurs in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” we can link the postmodern element to multiple sources, one of them being “Unnecessary Things” by Tatyana Tolstaya. I completely agree with Alvin the Chipmunk's assessment of “I wouldn’t touch something that's been marinating in its own grime for years, much less take it home and sleep with it.” The speaker compares finding a lost teddy bear to a mother finding her firstborn as a helpless baby again waiting for the mother to find them after all “these decades behind the storage chest in the closet, unable to call for you—and now you are finally reunited” (Tolstaya, 1). The narrator blurs the line between reality and fiction as their emotional attachment to the teddy bear becomes a metaphor for larger themes of nostalgia and loss. Metafiction also presents itself in Perfect Circle’s song “Orestes” where the reference to “metaphor for a missing moment” conveys that the speaker is self-aware about the narrative’s makeup and that they take note of the gaps or uncertainties in the poem (Perfect Circle, 1). Metafictional elements like this encourage readers to reflect on the role of storytelling in shaping their perception of the world and how narrative can captivate and motivate.
My Take 2
Each of the narratives demonstrates metafiction by erasing the boundaries between fiction and reality. While all narratives exhibit this postmodern element, they depict the characters being aware of their fictional state, narrators addressing the audience, and commenting on the work’s creation. However, it also presents how the postmodern element of metafiction changes the interpretation of a literary work.
Summary of Element Three - Intertextuality
Links to Postmodernism in Your Literary Tradition Text
Intertextuality refers to the relationship between texts by referencing other texts, alluding to, or influenced by another. Intertextuality is found in Samuel Coleridge’s narrative poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” when it depicts the sight of a ghostly ship with “The Nightmare LIFE-IN-DEATH” as its crew, illustrating the reference to traditional beliefs and literary tropes surrounding the supernatural and the event of death (Coleridge, 3). The reference presentation alludes to the symbolic figures of death and how it echoes these cultural representations of death, drawing on a shared culture of symbols and imagery. By alluding to literary tropes, you can easily determine the intertextual characteristics that are at play in the narrative poem. In the opposite regard, themes of man’s mortality and decay are conveyed when the mariner slays the albatross which leads to a curse that brings death and destruction to his shipmates. Throughout the poem the mariner’s guilt haunts him, serving as a reminder of his morality and moral feelings. While "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" naturally contains themes of decay and mortality, intertextuality can add depth and complexity by placing these themes in the perspective of larger literary traditions and conversations.
Links to Postmodern Media Sources
To further prove that intertextuality takes place in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” we can make connections to other sources like the song “Pyramid Song” by Radiohead. I remember reading a comment about the song and Chicken_tender got it right when they observed that the song has “this chill piano melody and some weird electronic noises in the background.” For instance, the title “Pyramid Song” alludes to Egyptian culture while also creating images of pyramids and adding cultural and historical depth to the song (Radiohead, 1). Intertextuality also is showcased in Tatyana Tolstaya’s short story “Unnecessary Things” where the narrator compares their situation with William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily.” In “A Rose of Emily” the main character “poisons her lover to prevent him from leaving her” and then locks herself in her home with her lover’s corpse for 40 years until she dies (Tolstaya, 1). By illustrating an intertextuality parody, the narrator draws parallels between them and the woman. Both narrators develop an emotional attachment to an object of their past that they struggle to surrender to the passage of time. The intertextuality invites the reader to uncover deeper layers to the overall theme and make their own interpretations about the connection of dialogues.
My Take 3
The narratives contain references to historical, cultural, or traditional pieces of literature. The reference varies between direct and indirect quotes, allusions, or parodies. The example demonstrates how intertextuality is presented through different techniques while still maintaining the same overall meaning. The postmodern element enhances the complexity by linking it to a large web as well as enriching the audience's understanding of the bigger picture themes in the literary works.
Conclusion
Although “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” attempts to keep the literary tradition’s context and structure of romantic quality, the postmodern elements of fragmentation, metafiction, and intertextuality found in the literary tradition provide an example of how the interpretation of a narrative is reconstructed. Viewing a literary work through a postmodern lens highlights how the themes and meanings of the work are altered. Thus, it is a reflection of how the audience chooses to interpret the postmodern element’s effect over the traditional romantic qualities.
Works Cited
Coleridge, Samuel. “Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43997/the-
rime-of-the-ancient-mariner-text-of-1834. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Dark Meme University. “Great Pyramid.” 28 Aug 2017. Tumblr, 2024,
dankmemeuniversity.tumblr.com/post/164734121778. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Foxhomeent “Alvin and the Chipmunks.” GIFDB, 2022, gifdb.com/alvin-and-the-chipmunks. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Leach, Holly. “Highlights of Postmodernism.” Nerd Central, 3 May 2023,
nerdcentralorg.files.wordpress.com/2024/05/highlights-of-postmodernism.pdf. Accessed 6 May 2024.
Howerdel, Billy, and Maynard Keenan. Perfect Circle. Lyrics to “Orestes.” Mer De Noms, The Chop Shop, 2000. Genius,
22 May 2000, genius.com/A-perfect-circle-orestes-lyrics. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Radiohead. “Pyramid Song.” Youtube, 23 Jan 2015, genius.com/Radiohead-pyramid-song-lyrics. Accessed 10 May
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Tolstaya, Tatyana. “Unnecessary Things.” The New Yorker, www.newyorker.com/books/flash-fiction/unnecessary-
things. Accessed 10 May 2024.