The Duality of Sin and Redemption in Coleridge`s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: Acritical Discourse Analysis Perspective

Abstract

This study aimed at explaining how a close analysis of the linguistic features in Coleridge`s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner can contribute to the comprehension of its religious content and ideological expressions. The analysis focused on the implied religious concepts specifically the Christian concept of sin and redemption that are expressed through certain linguistic features. These linguistic features were explained in the light of ideational meaning within Systemic and Functional Grammar which were adopted to reveal the implied religious content and ideology under the umbrella of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA).The study used a descriptive content analysis approach as a method of collecting data from the narrative; four excerpts from the poem were selected to represent the four different stages in the development of this poem. The findings revealed that Coleridge`s poem reflects religious content specifically the issues of sin and redemption according to the Christian and Romantic Belief in which sin leads to drastic consequences and resulting in causing hardship in life, in addition to that, the redemption from those negative consequences of sin is only achieved through adopting of love of nature, maintaining its diversity and following the way of Jesus the Christ as the savior. The researcher recommends that readers of English literature should take in consideration a sufficient religious background to better understand this poem.