Exactly how steamy is this poem?
PG
We really think this poem would have been about some friends trying to meet some girls at a wedding if the Mariner and his glittering eyes hadn't shown up. The poem has a tension between sensuality (and sexuality) and ascetic religious devotion. The Mariner has come to represent the latter, and he pretty much rules over the poem. Even as you hear everyone rocking out inside the wedding hall, you know the Wedding Guest definitely isn't joining the party tonight.