Albatross (metaphor) Albatross (metaphor) The word albatross is sometimes used metaphorically to mean a psychological burden that feels like a curse. It is an allusion to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (1798). In the poem, an albatross starts to follow a ship — being followed by an albatross was generally considered a sign of good luck. However, the titular mariner shoots the albatross with a crossbow, which is regarded as an act that will curse the ship (which indeed suffers terrible mishaps). Even when they are too thirsty to speak, the ship's crew let the mariner know
Rime of the Ancient Mariner (film) Rime of the Ancient Mariner (film) Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a 1975 film by director Raúl daSilva. It is a photoanimated-live action visualization of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem of the same name, featuring a direct reading given by British actor Michael Redgrave. DaSilva's film has won multiple minor awards and recognitions and, according to daSilva, has been said to effectively render the otherwise-difficult poem comprehensible by even the youngest of readers. Raúl daSilva's film introduces additional sensory perception elements to Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by taking the poem, which was written in a faux-archaic (purportedly Elizabethan)