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
Anna Hempstead Branch the first time by Houghton Mifflin in 1901 Branch's reputation was made with her next two collections, both heavily influenced by the work of the Pre-Raphaelites, especially Christina Rossetti. "The Shoes That Danced" (1905) features odd settings and characters. "Rose of the Wind" (1910) contains "The Wedding Feast", a reworking of "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and her most famous single poem, "Nimrod", a blank verse epic about the ancient king. The title work, a dramatic poem, was staged at the Empire Theatre in 1908. "Sonnets from a Lock Box" (1929) is regarded as her