The Rime of the Ancient Mariner of mist and snow"; the south wind that had initially led them from the land of ice now sends the ship into uncharted waters near the equator, where it is becalmed. The sailors change their minds again and blame the mariner for the torment of their thirst. In anger, the crew forces the mariner to wear the dead albatross about his neck, perhaps to illustrate the burden he must suffer from killing it, or perhaps as a sign of regret: Eventually, the ship encounters a ghostly hulk. On board are Death (a skeleton) and the "Night-mare Life-in-Death", a deathly-pale woman,
The Destiny of Nations later expanded in his "Opus Maximum" project and was contained in other poems including "The Eolian Harp". Other connections to his works include the Greenland Wizard, which serves as a legendary precursor to Coleridge's mythical "Rime of the Ancient Mariner". The poem provides insight into what works Coleridge was relying on and would rely on again when he wrote "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". He makes these works clear in his footnotes, such as one from Crantz's "History of Greenland" Vol. I. Other footnotes refer to Lemius's "De Lapponibus" and the Book of Revelation. Other sources are the works