Wingspan
Shaan Kapoor
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a fascinating story about life, death, regret, and guilt. In this epic poem, Samuel Taylor Coleridge writes about an ancient mariner who tells his tale about his relationship with an albatross and how it shaped him. Through his journey, the mariner learns that after his action, the guilt and regret will stick with him for a very long time.
At the start of the ancient mariner’s journey, he and his crew find an albatross that alters his fate. The boat he is on is pushed by a storm towards the South Pole. As they wander over to a hazy, misty sea, the ancient mariner and his crew come across an albatross. Eventually, the albatross becomes friends with the crew and ancient mariner. The mariner describes his first encounter with the bird, “It cracked and growled, and roared and howled,/ Like noises in a swound!/ At length did cross an albatross,/ Through the fog, it came;/ as if it had been a Christian soul,/ We hailed it in God’s name.” The Mariner and the albatross become close friends as he is seen feeding the albatross. Although the mariner and the albatross befriend each other, the mariner does a hellish thing.
After the mariner’s encounter with the albatross, he kills it and regrets it. One day the ancient mariner with his lack of consequential thinking shoots the albatross with his crossbow. The mariner’s crew is not happy with him because they believed the bird was a good omen. Coleridge writes, “‘God save thee, ancient Mariner!/ From the fiends, that plague thee thus!—/ Why look'st thou so?'—'With my crossbow/ I shot the Albatross.” Without thinking, the ancient mariner shoots the albatross and soon regrets his action. The Mariner is punished by his crew for doing such an act of killing the only thing that brought good luck.
After he shoots the albatross, the albatross was hung around the mariner’s neck and he immediately starts experiencing bad karma. Sooner or later, bad karma would start coming to the crew, but specifically the Ancient Mariner. To start it off, they would lose water and dehydrate, the wind would stop and they would fall into a doldrum. The mariner’s crew was extremely upset with him for he had shot the albatross with his crossbow. The shipmates would blame the ancient Mariner in their distress: in the sign that the dead sea-bird hangs around his neck. Water, water, everywhere,/ And all the boards did shrink;/ Water, water, everywhere,/ Nor any drop to drink. - Ah! well-a-day! what evil looks/ Had I from old and young!/ Instead of the cross, the Albatross/ About my neck was hung.” This was just the start of their bad karma after the ancient mariner’s diabolical action. After this, the ancient mariner realizes that he needs to be more mindful of his actions.
Throughout his journey, the ancient mariner discovers that after his wrongful behavior, the shame and feeling of guilt will remain with him for a very long time. Every person has been in the same place as the ancient mariner after you make a harmful action, you regret it and feel the guilt. In the ancient mariner’s case, he befriended the bird of good omen and out of nowhere, he shot it. His crew hung the albatross around his neck to show him that what he had done had not only affected the whole crew including the mariner, but also the albatross. If there is one thing that the mariner has learned throughout his epic journey, it is that you always need to think before you do something and apply consequential thinking.
