Ans: “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is widely acknowledged as the masterpiece of S.T. Coleridge. In this poem, Coleridge has mingled natural and supernatural elements very successfully. He has shown his mastery in mingling these elements in his poem. His treatment of the supernatural both in regard to its technique and poetic expression is unique in the domain of English poetry. In fact, supernaturalism ushered in a new character, new meaning, and altogether a new significance at the hands of Coleridge. He gave it a new dimension by the trick of suggestive indefiniteness, psychological instead of physical effects, the natural merging into the supernatural, a super sensitiveness in the world of nature, and a dreamy grace.

As a Romantic poet, Coleridge took upon himself the task of treating the supernatural in such a manner as to give it “a semblance of truth” and “to procure for these shadows of imagination that willing suspension of disbelief of the moment”. In other words, Coleridge was to naturalize the supernatural.

“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is commonly recognized as the best example of Coleridge’s use of the supernatural. The poet successfully blends the real and unreal, natural and the supernatural, and by dint of his artistic genius, he has made the spectral and mysterious atmosphere look credible. Realistic descriptions of nature, little human touches here and there, interpositions of the wedding guest, pictures of the return journey — all these produce an effect of probability on the mind and take us to feel the hard earth beneath our feet. Thus, the poet has succeeded in effecting an organic blend between the natural and the supernatural and rousing us up to the sublimity and intangibility of an ethereal terror that enchants rather than repels.

The supernatural elements are not abruptly introduced into the poem. It is very difficult to locate where the natural ends and the supernatural begins or to distinguish the natural from the supernatural in a particular description.

At the beginning of “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, the poet gives us a very realistic description of the background. The church, the kirk, the sun, the lighthouse, and the moon are described very accurately and vividly. The ship standing as a painted ship upon a painted ocean, the pale moonshine glimmering all night, the horned moon with one bright star dogging it’s hulls-all these are examples of vivid imaginative apprehension of the exact details of nature. These descriptions of nature surely help in the acceptance of supernatural elements.

The appearance of the ghost ship is a supernatural element. For killing the Albatross, the sailors had to suffer untold sufferings. They had not a drop of drinking water. They were waiting for a ship to come and help them. At that time, a skeleton ship comes with two supernatural figures on its deck. One of the figures is Death and the other is Life-in-Death. The poet describes a mood of uncanny fear in the minds of the readers by describing the physical appearance of the Life-in-Death.

The most supernatural event in the whole poem is the coming back to the life of the dead sailors. After the old sailor blesses the water snakes, his redemption begins and the ship is driven towards the home harbor by the Polar Spirit. At one point a group of Angles enters the body of the dead sailors and the dead sailors rise to their feet and row the ship.

In conclusion, it can be said that Coleridge is very successful in blending natural elements with supernatural elements in his world-class masterpiece “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”.