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
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner The Rime of the Ancient Mariner The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (originally The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere) is the longest major poem by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in 1797–98 and published in 1798 in the first edition of "Lyrical Ballads". Some modern editions use a revised version printed in 1817 that featured a gloss. Along with other poems in "Lyrical Ballads", it is often considered a signal shift to modern poetry and the beginning of British Romantic literature. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" relates the experiences of a sailor who has returned from a