Poetry in British Literature

The description no doubt has supernatural qualities with the "brown skeletons" lagging however the light in the distance disappeared and they noticed it was the beacon light on a sinking ship. There they found what appeared to be a dead man floating face down on top of the water. The man that lay floating in the water "like one that hath been seven days drowned." was the Ancient Mariner. This is the moment in which the Hermit recognizes the Mariners supernatural existence. The Hermit was astonished by the Mariner could have survived and demanded to know "what manner of man art thou?" Although the question posed is more rhetorical than anything else it gives us knowledge of the Hermits stance they must be blessed or cursed by some higher power. The Hermit in a way is the Ancient Mariner's real proof that solidified his story. This is a crucial point in the poem and clears up what happened to the Ancient Mariner when he was at sea.

The old Mariner is indeed immortal and cannot die as punishment for striking the Albatross with his cross-bow. When the Mariner got situated on the boat the presence of the Hermit "forced me to begin my tale; / And then if left me free." The Hermit was the first person that the Ancient Mariner told his story to. Speaking of the Hermit, the Mariner explained "That moment that his face I see, / I know the man that must hear me: / To him my tale I teach." It is reasonable to believe that the Holy Hermit's spiritual presence inspired in some way the Mariner to tell his tale. Had the Hermit not been there, no one knows if the Mariner would have ever found his "strange power of speech".