Why would the Mariner have done something like that? Why did he kill the Bird of Good omen?
Tuesday 21 September 2010
Why did the Mariner kill the albatross?
The ancient mariner sails away together with the rest of the crew. There is this bird, the albatross, that goes together with the sailors and helps them move all along. It's a bird of good omen. Suddenly the Mariner shoots the albatross and everything changes, the rest of the sailors are doomed and so is the mariner who will be chased for eternity by the spiritis of the supernatural world...
Why would the Mariner have done something like that? Why did he kill the Bird of Good omen?
Why would the Mariner have done something like that? Why did he kill the Bird of Good omen?
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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is one of the most representative poems at the end of the XVII Century poetry. In few words, this is the story of a mariner who has to tell his story—what happened to him when he shot the Albatross and all bad circumstances that he had experienced for his sin—again and again because it was his punishment in relation to the crime committed. Backtracking to the poem itself, there is not a clear reason why the Mariner killed the Albatross. Conversely, it can be said that the Albatross represents a figure of power and good luck—this animal is linked with the power that God provides, and it also is reflected in nature—and as the poem develops, readers can find the real reason (inferred): the Mariner wants to have the same power as God, for that reason it is believed that he killed the Albatross because he wants to be compared as God, and he is also willing to control the route of the ship—self sufficient and wise person. However, this action carries many consequences to the Mariner because nobody is able to go against nature, and all the creatures are equal—that is the main explanation of the penalty of the Mariner.
ReplyDeleteThe Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a poem which was written in the romantic period. This period was characterized for the development of feelings and spiritual trends that were portrayed in different movements such as music and literature, among others. It was this spiritual tendency that marked Coleridge’s poem, letting us make some comparisons between the mariner and the fall of Satan.
ReplyDeleteThe poem tells the story of an ancient mariner who kills an albatross and is condemned to tell his story forever, being trapped in a never ending life; in a never ending suffering.
In my opinion, I think the mariner killed the albatross because he could not tolerate the idea that the crew believed in another thing as the reason of their good conditions during the journey. The mariner felt jealous for the bird as he wanted to be the one in whom the crew could trust as a kind of leader, so he decided to kill the bird and by in command of the situations. This scene can be used as a comparison with Satan’s fall scene, where he wanted to be in the same position as God is and because of that, he was punished by God himself leaving him in hell for the eternity. Here, the mariner can be compared with Satan because both of them wanted to be leaders; and the albatross can be compared with God, as both are the good leaders by nature.
From Romina Cádiz:
ReplyDeleteThe Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a poem that corresponds to the pre-romantic movement that started during the XVII century. As a characteristic of the structure of the poem written in this period, the vision of the poem was nature, poetic feelings that nature makes the author fells. The structure is also related with darkness and the gothic part of view. All of these things are related with the action that the mariner decided to do when he killed the albatross. This sad action can be explained as the following. The mariner wanted to control the all situation of the sheep. He as a human being cannot accept that another person, in this case an animal do the job. The mariner wanted to be the powerful person instead of the animal. The mariner noticed that the power the sheep was controlled by the albatross, and he could not accept that reality. He wanted to be the responsible of the success of the traveling that he was doing. By killing the bird, he noticed then that he was having the role of the god, he had the control now; however, this situation changed. All things became worst after the mariner committed the action of killing the bird. As a way of punishment, nature was the one who at the end controlled the situation, and makes things get worst by giving the mariner a horrible storm. Nature wins instead of human being. Why is that? Well…it part of the mystery of the poem.
long time nosee
DeleteI agree with the fact that the poem was written in the romantic period, which was influenced by darkness and gothic movements.
ReplyDelete“And thus spake on that ancient man,” (Coleridge, 1798)
Although, there are some quotes that lead us to believe that the ancient mariner is a representation of Satan. According to the poem, the ancient mariner or the ancient man sails away together with the rest of the crew and “Still treads the shadow of his foe” (Coleridge, 1798). Whose foe is it?
Once, the mariner was impressed by the water-snakes and while being in hell, the water-snakes caught his attention even though they looked ugly and “slimy.” According to the Bible, all of those characteristics might firmly relate the Ancient Mariner to Satan because Satan is also known as the old serpent and the dragon. (Revelation 12:9 - King James) I clearly perceive some connections there.
Then “At length did cross an Albatross, - Thorough the fog it came; - As if it had been a Christian soul, - We hailed it in God's name. - not friends is the enemy” (Coleridge, 1798)
Since God and Satan are two different forces that collide at the same time, the Ancient Mariner would not have liked the Albatross. Would he? In addition, the bible suggests that Satan will be chased for eternity by the spirits of the supernatural world (Matthew 25:41 - King James). Even though the Albatross was a “good omen”, the ancient mariner shoots the Albatross, because it came from above and was hailed in the name of God.
Gothic movements, darkness and sad feelings are obvious representations of the romantic Movement during the XVII century.
ReplyDeleteThe ancient mariner finally kills the albatross because it is a sign of power, At first, its a sign of good luck because it is the one which helps them to have more wind to go on with their journey, but at the end, the mariner realizes that the albatross is the one that is putting all the problems they have to full fill their journey. He kills the albatross simply because he is the only one that realizes that it is not a sign of good luck, but it is a sign of perdition and madness. which is kind of ironic since he is the one that ends up in madness at the end.
albatros doooooooooooos
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ReplyDeletefull sendski
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ReplyDeleteI’m coming in rather late here but there’s something I’ve been wondering about this topic and You nicely cover this, Thanks for sharing such this nice article. Your post was really good. Some ideas can be made. About English literature. Further, you can access this site to read Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a Poem of Crime and Punishment
ReplyDeleteGreat article and very helpful for the English literature students
ReplyDelete