The Albatross

A detailed Summary of The Albatross

Essay on The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

To hang an albatross around one's neck is to symbolize shame, but from what is

this symbol derived? Is it because an albatross is so heavy that when hung around the neck

it causes one to hang their head, as to implement shame? Or could it be that it was a figure

of speech given to one that carried a guilt that was as large and weighted as an albatross is

big and heavy, and therefore carried that shame for all to see as an albatross around the

neck? But why an albatross, which was considered to be a sign of good luck? In Samuel

Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"all questions are answered as to

how and why an albatross hung around the neck is considered to be shameful and almost a

In the beginning of Coleridge's poem, the albatross was a sign of good luck to the

was detered away from the Mariner's actions. "The fair breeze blew, the white foam

needed to hear it, so that they may be able to see the beauty that God had blessed the earth

down" (line 107), the ship had suddenly stopped. There the crew was left to starve under

able to see that nature can be beautiful and he blessed the water snakes with all of his

and sentence him to another punishment. He was forced to wear the large albatross

plucked from the sky. "With my crossbow, I [the Mariner] shot the Albatross" (lines

81-82) and for apparently no reason other than he never really had appreciation for nature

The Mariner was left to live life-in-death, but one day he saw water snakes. And in

with and so that they may have love and respect toward nature.

soul" (lines 63-65). The crew, who's ship had been driven off course by a terrible storm,

or its' creature

Approximate Word count = 591
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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