Coleridge wrote "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" in 1817 during the Romantic period, which was concerned with nature and art and defined by a strong sense of optimism regarding human nature, although the Romantics often rejected formalized religion. Instead, they believed humans could redeem themselves through "an act of self-realization." Essay topics on "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" could address how the poem represents the concerns of Romanticism, particularly the optimism of the poem's ending and the theme of redemption throughout, as well as the powerful, almost god-like presence of nature. Essays could also compare Coleridge's poem to other classic Romantic works, such as William Wordsworth's "Lyrical Ballads."
The narrator, the ancient mariner, has fascinated readers for two centuries. Writing an essay on his character -- grotesque, eerie, bizarre -- might illuminate the meaning of the poem. Essays could address the narrator's sense of guilt and responsibility, and how he narrates his own redemption. The notion of his captivating a person with his story against that person's will sets an uncanny tone for the poem that an essay could also explore. Essays could also relate this to the idea of the power of storytelling in general, and why it was important to the Romantics.
"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is filled with strange characters and creatures. Some have speculated that the poem might be a kind of Christian allegory. An essay could explore how this might be possible and, if so, what the narrator and the albatross represent, tying the symbols into the themes of guilt, suffering and redemption. An appealing essay could consider why the wedding guest was "one of three" that the narrator stopped.
Many scholars, and Coleridge himself, have noted that the ending to "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is unsatisfactory. The idea that the mariner is punished for killing a bird seems to make the poem simply a moral lesson. Essays could discuss what the mariner's crime actually was, and if it was killing the albatross, what the albatross might represent, especially considering the Romantics' emphasis on a kind of non-religious spiritual hope.