Question:
Why did the Mariner hold back the Wedding-Guest?
Why did the Mariner hold back the Wedding-Guest?
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In literature questions, connect the character’s actions with themes like guilt, punishment, and redemption to give a complete answer.
Updated On: Feb 23, 2026
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Solution and Explanation
Concept:
This question is based on Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem \textit{The Rime of the Ancient Mariner}. The poem explores themes of guilt, sin, punishment, and redemption. The Mariner stops the Wedding-Guest because he is compelled to share his tragic tale as a form of penance.
Answer:
The Mariner held back the Wedding-Guest because he was burdened with the need to narrate his life-changing experience. After killing the albatross, he suffered terrible consequences and was doomed to wander the earth, telling his story repeatedly as a form of punishment and redemption. He stops certain people, like the Wedding-Guest, whom he instinctively knows must hear his tale. By sharing his story, he relieves his spiritual agony and teaches others the importance of loving all of God’s creatures.
Explanation:
The Mariner is driven by an inner compulsion to tell his story. His act of stopping the Wedding-Guest shows:
His deep guilt and suffering after the crime.
His need for spiritual relief through confession.
The moral purpose of warning others against disrespecting nature and God’s creation.
His deep guilt and suffering after the crime.
His need for spiritual relief through confession.
The moral purpose of warning others against disrespecting nature and God’s creation.
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