The Rime of the Postmodern Mariner
Introduction
In Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, an old man recounts his experience getting lost at sea and coming across many instances of classic Romantic Era supernatural activity. The Rime rings with revelations of the fascination with nature and the growth of an individual. The means by which Coleridge shows these elements embody what a piece of Romantic Literature represents, which is what has made such an icon even to this day. Viewed ✨Postmodernly✨, the mariner’s tall tail is a jumble of Magical Realism, Maximalism, and a healthy dose of Randomness that gives a message about nature’s superiority over man.
Element One - Magical Realism
Links to Postmodernism in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Death is a common and well known occurrence in the real world. Most of the time, it generally results in great horror (or joy…if you’re into that) and smelly carcases. MOST OF THE TIME, it does not result in a flock of spirits flying around in the sky, as depicted in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner;
“The souls did from their bodies fly,—
They fled to bliss or woe!
And every soul, it passed me by,
Like the whizz of my cross-bow!”
(Coleridge Part 3)
In this excerpt, the narrator’s ship has just been raided by the supernatural beings Death and Life-In-Death, and all of the crew, aside from one, have been condemned to an early passing. I have interpreted that the narrator is describing the souls of his dead crewmates literally whizzing by his head as they leave their bodies. Why? Well, put simply, it all lies in the simile in the last line of the stanza. In the previous three lines, it can easily be argued that the narrator is speaking metaphorically when describing the souls leaving their bodies and passing him by, as a way to express his genuine horror in the face of death. However, describing the souls as whizzing by his body, just like the whizz of a crossbow arrow, the narrator gives a clear message that there are actual, real, physical spirits leaving the carcasses (carcassi? Carcassisses? Carcasie?). Now the reason that that is remotely relevant at all is because of our new postmodern lens. What is seen in Romantic Literature as simple sensory details, is a beautiful instance of Magical Realism when viewed from a Postmodern point of view. As aforementioned, souls DO NOT fly out of people’s bodies after they die in the real world. Thus, Magical Realism sprouts into existence in the world of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Links to Postmodern Media Sources
Want an example of REAL Magical Realism from the postmodern age? Well look no further than Eric Howeton’s, “Polyphemus on His Days Off”
As you may know, Polyphemus is a character in Greek mythology that was alive before the birth of Jesus. Soooooo, it is slightly odd that he spends his leisure time renting DVD’s, watching TV, wearing tracksuits, and bickering with college students. These normal modern activities, along with cameos from other Greek characters like Sisyphus and his own parents, feasibly, could possibly, perchance…JUST MIGHT indicate some elements of Postmodern Magical Realism. Take for instance, this paragraph about Mr. One-Eye’s simplistic modern day off.
“On days away from the cave, Polyphemus rents DVDs from the kiosk outside the nearby butcher’s. He watches films in the apartment of a dear friend who is frequently out of town on business and, as any good houseguest would, he leaves a detailed account of the food he ate in a note that gushes with gratitude. The giant has seen Titanic more than a dozen times, and while watching he roots for the iceberg and without fail overturns his popcorn when the iceberg succeeds. He dislikes movies about politicians who talk smart, and also stories in which people are smuggled in hollow vessels across the border. The trunks of cars, shipping containers, and oil drums be damned.”
As I was reading this story, I found myself forming an image of our one-eyed friend that was less of a formidable Greek menace, and more of the iconic and timeless character that is “The Dude” from the cinematic blessing itself; The Big Lebowski. The film itself falls somewhere between an acid trip and James Bond, featuring Los Angeles’ finest potheads and retired veterans on a quest for social justice. The Dude is the protagonist of the film and shares many habits with postmodern Polyphemus, like leisurely TV watching, out-and-abouting with a very small circle of friends, and styling “synthetic fibers” and only the flashiest of slippers.
Movie Trailer:
My Take - Whether it be souls of the dead doing their best mosquito impersonation, or a Greek legend lounging in his friend’s couch, Magical Realism is a simple, yet effective method of storytelling that exists beyond only the postmodern era.
Element Two - Maximalism
Links to Postmodernism in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Continuing our PostRomantic journey, it is important to note the absolutely obsessive (and sometimes creepy) love Romantic poets and authors have for excessive amounts of detail (Phffff. Nerds.). Samuel Taylor Coleridge is not an exception by any means. Take for instance, this stanza which serves only to describe sleep.
“Oh sleep! it is a gentle thing,
Beloved from pole to pole!
To Mary Queen the praise be given!
She sent the gentle sleep from Heaven,
That slid into my soul.”
(Coleridge Part 5)
A simpler version of this stanza might have looked something like this:
“I finally got some sleep.
Yay!!”
Both possible descriptions achieve the same compliments towards sleep, however Coleridge’s description of slumber allows for a masterclass in T.M.I. (too much information, for you older folk). One such method of achieving such impressive T.M.I. is the use of personification. Coleridge was able to give sleep the human characteristic of “gentle” TWICE in a mere FIVE LINES. Had that description continued at the same rate for the rest of the story, the total number of “gentle”’s towards sleep would come out to:
…..I don’t know.
It’d be a big number
thinking nerd gif
.
Ironically, my analysis of this device has loads of extra(?) information. I have become what I swore to destroy😞. So to put it simply, Coleridge’s incorporation of intense detail is the same as Postmodern Maximalism
Links to Postmodern Media Sources
So what does Maximalism look like in the Postmodern era. Well, let’s take a look at A Perfect Circle’s song, “Orestes”.
One instance is when Sr. Keenan (songwriter) complicates his lyrics when he says he wants to “Snip away and sever this umbilical residue”. On the surface this makes NO SENSE unless Keenan is assuming the identity of a newborn baby. Assuming that Keenan is in fact singing from his own point of view, he is alluding to his mother’s protection and comfort. “Umbilical residue” is the substance that covers us and keeps us alive in the womb, which makes it a surprisingly clear metaphorical representation of the shelter and protection that Keenan’s mother gave him. After her passing, the lyrics express that it is time for Keenan to accept the loss of the motherly love that he used to have.
Whether it comes as a surprise to you or not, alternative rock is one of my favorite genres of music. So, as you might expect, there are many other songs that I connected to A Perfect Circle’s work.
I imagine this song as a middle ground between the all-out loud and heavy, “The Kill”, by Thirty Seconds to Mars and the long, slow, melodic, and eerily euphoric piece that is, “Nutshell”, by Alice in Chains. “Orestes” holds a beautiful middle ground between the music elements of both songs, as well as the dark, yet intriguing lyrics that both pieces contain.
The Kill:
Nutshell:
My Take - Detail in writing has been around for about as long as literature itself has. All jokes aside, deep descriptions add impact to stories and their messages, and are impacting Postmodern literature just as much as they did in the Romantic era, now in the form of Maximalism.
Element Three - Randomness
Your Literary Tradition Text
As grim as the events of the mariner’s story are, much of what happens is very much off the walls in terms of you know… making sense. Luckily, randomness is the perfect explanation (in a postmodern lens) for why it all works. One of the more “out there” moments of the story comes when a ghost ship pulls up on the mariner’s voyage:
Did peer, as through a grate?
And is that Woman all her crew?
Is that a DEATH? and are there two?
Is DEATH that woman's mate?
Her lips were red, her looks were free,
Her locks were yellow as gold:
Her skin was as white as leprosy,
The Night-mare LIFE-IN-DEATH was she,
Who thicks man's blood with cold.
The naked hulk alongside came,
And the twain were casting dice;
'The game is done! I've won! I've won!'
Quoth she, and whistles thrice.
(Coleridge Part 3)
If you weren’t able to pick up on the bougie language, what basically happened is that the mariner sees two people on the ghost ship; Death and Life-in-Death. The two were playing a game of dice to find out who gets to decide on the mariner’s fate and Life-in-Death takes home the win.
I’m sure that watching a ghost crew on a ghost ship playing ghost dice was very terrifying at the moment. However, let’s take a step back and realize just how out of the blue this is, especially coming from a story that had mostly been grounded in reality up to this point. In the story’s defense, this drastic shift from mostly real to definitely not real creates some genuine shock, and makes the audience ask the key question; “what will happen next??”. This element of the unexpected and intriguing goes a longgggg way when it comes to making an interesting story, which is only aided by Coleridge’s repeated usage of similes to further solidify the random elements of his story.
Links to Postmodern Media Source
Random or playful elements are not difficult to find in today’s literary age. Postmodernism is often characterized by an “anything goes” attitude when it comes to how to create a mood or deliver a message. The band Gorillaz have embraced this attitude to the fullest, which is a large part of what has made them so successful around the world. In the case of the “Humility” music video, randomness and playfulness is on full display. The video includes cartoon characters sporting questionable outfits while roller skating around the beach, sabotaging basketball games, winning chess matches, and standing around menacingly. To add further randomization, the video also includes a people-tage of all kinds of colorful personalities in the beach town. These people include bike riders, street walkers, tattoo havers, and a man who will offer “Super Shi”…… I mean “poopy advice” for a mere one dollar. 💸
One interesting side note about this music video: 2D’s eye color changes with his mood. At the very end of the video, after he gets tripped by Russell, he is very obviously off put and after he blinks, his eyes change from all white to straight black and he loses his extreme grace that he had for the previous parts of the video. This correlation can also be seen earlier in the video. When a struggling roller skater denies 2D’s helping hand, 2D’s eyes get the slightest hint of gray as he shrugs and skates away-presumably slightly hurt that the stranger wouldn’t accept his aid.
So, what does this mean in terms of postmodernism? The answer is…….
Not much.
BUT, it is a unique detail that I found intriguing and shows the intense detail that Gorillaz put into their work.
Given the setting of the music video, I am inspired to think back to my not-so-numerous visits to the beach.🌴 Despite my limited beachgoing experience and the video’s outlandish events, I found a lot of relatability to the vibe of the story. Between the endless array of individuals, the carefree mood, the bright sunshine, and the goofier elements of the video, I couldn’t help being brought back to my memories of good beaches, great water, and even better times.
My Take - When analyzed beneath the surface, the stories being told in the music video and “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” are not entirely different. Both stories have magical, random pieces that make them very unique and help them gain popularity and deliver their message.
Conclusion
The literature from both eras show that, no matter what genre or time period, good stories share many similarities that propel them to success. Sometimes the best way to deliver a message that is grounded in reality is to break the rules of real life.
Works Cited
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” 1798. Poetry Foundation, 2024,
poetryfoundation.org/poems/43997/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner-text-of-1834. Accessed 11 May 2024
Dore, Gustavo. “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” 1876. Katie Mascari, 19 December 2019, pius.slu.edu/special- collections/?p=5299 Accessed 11 May 2024.
Hewlett, Jamie. An interview with the artist behind the Gorillaz characters. 6 November, 2018. WePresent, wepresent.wetransfer.com/stories/jamie-hewlett-gorillaz.
Joelledelon. “Joelledelon GIF.” Giphy, giphy.com/gifs/big-lebowski-dance-3o7qDFW1ZACr9x21P2. Accessed 11 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.
Orestes. Nerdy Publisher, Musixmatch, nerdypublisher.wixsite.com/website/post/read-between-the-lines. Accessed 6 May 2024.
Screen Bites. “Official Trailer | The Big Lebowski | Screen Bites.” YouTube, 15 March 2011, youtube.com/watch?v=cd- go0oBF4Y Accessed 1 May 2024.