Individuation And The Collective Unconsciousness in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of The Ancient Mariner

Abstract

The research applies Jungian analysis to investigate The Rime of the Ancient Mariner which Samuel Taylor Coleridge created because the Mariner reaches his personal growth through his application of fundamental human symbols which exist in the collective human psyche. The paper studies the poem's supernatural elements because they function as essential components which create a continuous dream structure that displays internal mental battles through visual elements and narrative development. The actual albatross killing demonstrates how Shadow emergence occurs while Death and Life-in-Death present Anima archetypes which the character must battle and water-snakes blessing shows the character's initial development of Selfhood.  The study uses thorough textual examination which applies Carl Jung's archetype and individuation theories to prove that the Mariner's journey from guilt and brokenness to spiritual healing follows the established mental growth patterns which people experience. The poem presents a dual framework which shows human weakness through sin and redemption while displaying how people manage their conscious and unconscious self-realization processes.

Key words: Collective unconscious, Individuation, Jungian archetypes, psychological transformation, Dream imagery, Shadow & Anima, Spiritual redemption