I think it's absolutely amazing that Mary Robinson is able to keep us suspended between the supernatural and the natural realms almost entirely throughout the poem and entirely after reading it, partly through utter confusion. The culmination of the idea of being suspended between both realms comes at line 55 where she writes "The Spectre band, his messmates brave." Assuming that they're both the same thing, the juxtaposition of the supernatural crew and the natural crew not only places us in both places at once but also unifies two time frames, past and present.
Another unifying factor between past and present seems to be the Moon. The moon marks first "the ghastly crowd" and then marks the Sailor reaching land and then marks the murderer washing his hands. This could be one take on Nature's "guilt" in so far that it doesn't actually kill but is witness to the killing(s) and the aftermath. On the other hand, the view of the Ocean as the murderer is justified at lines 69-70 because the "liquid way" seems to me to be the Ocean which contains the murdered ship and crew. So is it possible that there are two murderers?
The use of the word brave is also a factor here as they, the crew, are the dead ones. The Sailor lives however, only long enough to be killed for his selfishness.
- Is this saying that the Sailor was not brave in lashing himself to the mast?
Also if the fisherman is the murderer why is he referred to in line 62 as the murderer and then in line 63 as the fisherman and then again murderer at 69 but this time with a capital "M"? Again, are there two murderers?
In contrast to "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" this person who wastes away seems to be mortal. In line 80, "He wastes, in Solitude and Pain, A loathsome life away."
I understand the idea of being suspended between or in both realms at once (natural and supernatural) but this has just been eating at me. It's startling, confusing, exciting, and a thousand other things to be where she puts us and due to the nature of being suspended in both realms we can't really find closure or one right answer. But we can ponder, right?
