Worn and Woeful

“I am going to unexplored regions, to ‘the land of mist and snow,’ but I shall kill no albatross; therefore do not be alarmed for my safety or if I should come back to you as worn and woeful as the ‘Ancient Mariner’” (7).


The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a lengthy poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It tells of a mariner whose ship is blown toward the Antarctic and then led out by an albatross. The albatross symbolizes good luck, and when the mariner kills it, he is cursed forever. This foreshadows the events that will take place in the novel.

Works Cited:
"Albatross." Wikipedia. 24 Aug. 2008. 24 Aug. 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/albatross.
"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." Wikipedia. 26 Aug. 2008. 24 Aug. 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/the_rime_of_the_ancient_mariner

Photo Credit: http://www.rosssea.info/pix/big/Royal_Albatross.jpg