Coleridge’s Albatross: The Wider Contexts of Relevance

Abstract

This paper focuses on the symbolic significance of the Mariner’s brutal act of killing the unsuspecting innocent Albatross for reasons and motives that are even unknown to the former and relate this significant episode to issues that are individual and collective prevailing over the whole spectrum of life. This argument will also bring into spotlight the Albatross symbol that has been variously interpreted, with diverse dimensions, over the years. The main purpose is to shed light on the individual-social paradigm in the heavily loaded atmosphere of the ballad poem.