What kind of poem is The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?

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Portrait of poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge — Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge, detail of an oil painting by Washington Allston, 1814; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a famous poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge that utilizes the ballad form.1

First published in the 1798 collection Lyrical Ballads, the poem is structured in seven parts. It tells the narrative of a mariner who, after senselessly killing an albatross, faces supernatural torments and the death of his crew. The work explores profound themes regarding the interconnectedness of all living things and the mariner's eventual journey toward redemption through a newfound reverence for life.21