Albatross In The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

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The Rime of The Ancient Mariner is about a mariner and his crew going on a journey that turns sour quickly. The Mariner kills an albatross which is a symbol of good luck; because of this action, The Mariner gets his whole crew killed. As they die, they all cast a curse on the Mariner; making his life agony until he sees the beauty in some water snakes. Since the Mariner is able to see this beauty, the albatross that was around his neck, falls. The Mariner has a bit of good fortune for his ship is carried by unknown forces to his homeland. When he reaches this land he comes across a pilot, the pilot’s son and a hermit, when the mariner sees the Hermit he feels he needs to tell his story to him, which makes his agony disappear only for a little…show more content…
When the Albatross first appears it is described as a, “Christian soul, we hailed in god’s name (Coleridge, 63-66)”. The Albatross had done nothing to the Mariner or his crew besides stir them free from the ice, which led to “a good south wind sprung up behind” (71)”. The bird had only followed them through the misty waters when, without a word the Mariner killed the Albatross. When speaking to the Wedding guest the mariner states, “With my cross-bow I shot the Albatross (81-82).” The Mariner’s crew men were outraged by his actions and even the Mariner himself had said that he “Had done a hellish thing (91).” The Mariner’s fate for killing the albatross is that he would be cursed by his crew men before they died and he would have to seek beauty in God’s work before the albatross, “about my neck was hung (142),” could fall free. Another part of his punishment, besides watching his crewmen die, he would have to tell those who will be affected by his tale. The mariner chooses who he tells the story to the moment he sees their faces; he also claims through his “strange power of speech (587).” In the end, the punishment the Mariner receives fits the crime that he
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