bring out the theme of 'crime and punishment' in the RIME OF ANCIENT MARINER.

In The Rime of Ancient Mariner, we see that the crime which the mariner committed was that he killed the albatross which had brought in good weather and led the ice to split, making way for the ship to set sail. The albatross was hailed in God's name and thus, it was considered to be a bad omen to have killed the albatross who brought the good south wind.

As far as punishment was concerned, the people on board the ship experienced extreme weather conditions which ruined their journey further. The mariner admits to have committed a “hellish” thing. He was accused to have slew the bird which made the breeze to blow. Thus, he was punished by his co-mariners to hang an albatross around his neck. Thus, bearing this guilt in mind, he stops every stranger he meets to narrate his story.