In "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Coleridge why does the Mariner kill the Albatross?

Question

and also do his actions make him unusually cruel, or do they connect him to the whole of humanity? I cannot find any sources to help me on this any help would be much appreciated

Answer 1

"The moral suggested at the end of the poem seems too simplistic to account for what is clearly a more complex and confused rendering of the theme of sin and redemption placed upon the Mariner's tale. The poem purports to tell a story about how one man's act of "evil" affects him and the people around him. The story is deeply influenced by religious imagery, yet seems muddled. Why did the Mariner kill the albatross in the first place? What drove him to commit such an act? Was it simply because he didn't "loveth well both man and bird and beast" (612)? Is that what we're supposed to take away from the poem? Too much is missing from this explanation.

The Mariner's guilt seems to extend to all mankind, so much so that all his fellow sailors pay the price for it with their lives. Did they too simply not love "All things both great and small" (615)? Something important is missing here. Explanations as to why the Mariner did what he did and why it was the seemingly guiltless compatriots who paid the ultimate price for it are missing and the moral at the end isn't strong or far-reaching enough to give proper account for things. This moral at the end suggests to me a reading of the poem which goes far beyond what Coleridge is telling us to think and feel through the simple narrative. The Mariner represents more than just a man who didn't feel deeply enough about his fellow creatures. His guilt far exceeds those crimes.
Based on the poem at large his guilt seems to encompass something far more desperate and worldly than the crimes he may have committed based on the moral at the end. Coleridge is purposely leaving something out at the end, for instance, a better explanation for why the Mariner did what he did. This leads one to suggest that perhaps it is the Mariner himself who doesn't fully comprehend his actions, even after all this time and all his re-tellings. Perhaps he can't be counted upon as a fully believable and accountable narrator. The simple moral seems to suggest a reading that maybe the entire poem should be reconsidered in terms of who is telling the tale. Perhaps the events as described didn't actually happen the way we are being told. The Mariner himself may have been in a state of frenzy during much of what happened and maybe the story he tells should be completely reconsidered as a statement of absolute fact. Perhaps it was a dream or a recollection from a state of madness.

The fact is that there is indeed too much moral conflict in the poem for the simple moral at the end to account for. The poem is too complex for the stated moral to be taken at face value, and must be considered more deeply in terms of narrative structure and point of view for a deeper understanding of the real moral of the story to take place."

and

"OVERVIEW
On a superficial level, 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' can be read as a tale of horror in which a mariner is hounded by disaster and supernatural forces after murdering an albatross. However, the poem is much more than that. Coleridge clearly tries to make the supernatural elements of the poem appear as integral parts of the natural world. His underlying theme is that all things that inhabit the natural world have an inherent value and beauty, and that it is necessary for humanity to recognize and respect these qualities. The simple action of the plot, initiated by the mariner's unthinking, destructive act, leads to his tribulations and consequent progress to maturity. 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' is an excellent example of Romantic poetry and is often read to understand the characteristics of this poetic genre.

III SETTING
There are two settings in 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'. In the first scene an ancient mariner stops a guest at a wedding party and begins to tell his tale. The mariner's words then transport the reader on a long ocean voyage, returning to the wedding at the end of the poem. The story is probably set in the late medieval period; the town in which the action occurs is never named, although it is likely that Coleridge's audience would have pictured a British seaport, possibly London.

The mariner describes a voyage he took as a youth from an unnamed European country to the South Pole and back. The initial descriptions of the ship and its crew are fairly realistic, but as the ancient mariner undergoes his quest for understanding and redemption, the supernatural world increasingly engulfs him. His world becomes nightmarish when contrasted with the realistic world that he has left behind. At the same time, in the background, elements from the natural world are always present. For much of the poem, the mariner is adrift in the middle of the ocean, symbolically cut off from all human companionship.

IV THEMES AND CHARACTERS
There are several secondary themes in 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner', relating to Christianity and the supernatural, and two primary themes. The first primary theme concerns the potential consequences of a single unthinking act. When the mariner shoots an albatross, he does it casually and without animosity. Yet this impulsive, destructive act is his undoing. Similar to other Romantics, Coleridge believed that the seeds of destruction and creation are contained each within the other. One cannot create something without destroying something else. Likewise, destruction leads to the creation of something new. The loss of the mariner's ship, shipmates, and his own former self ultimately leads to the regeneration of the mariner.

This process of destruction and regeneration introduces the poem's second main theme. The mariner gradually comes to realize the enormous consequences of his casual act, even as he struggles to accept responsibility for it. To do this he must comprehend that all things in nature are of equal value. Everything, as a part of nature, has its own beauty and is to be cherished for its own sake.

This realization is suddenly apparent when the mariner spontaneously recognizes the beauty of the sea snakes; his heart fills with love for them, and he can bless them 'unaware'. The moral of the tale is manifest in the ancient mariner's final words to the wedding guest: 'He prayeth best, who loveth best/ All things both great and small;/ For the dear God who loveth us,/ He made and loveth all.'

Coleridge focuses in the poem on humanity's relationship to the natural world. It is clear that the killing of the albatross brings dire consequences on the mariner. In a larger sense, it is not his killing of the bird that is wrong, but the mariner's—and by extension humankind's—callous and destructive relationship with nature that is in error. Coleridge intends to confront this relationship and place it in a larger philosophical context. If the reader grasps the lesson that the ancient mariner learns from his experience, then there are social implications.

Although the mariner's killing of the albatross, the terrifying deaths of his shipmates, and the grotesque descriptions of supernatural spirits are disturbing, these elements are intended to develop the story, to illustrate how the mariner's destructive act sets him apart, and to portray vividly the results of his act and the horrifying, repulsive world that he comes to inhabit because of it. The consequences are all the more terrible for having been set in motion by such a thoughtless act in the first place. Coleridge is working towards a goal—to portray the mariner's development into a sensitive, understanding, and compassionate human being. In so doing, he aims to persuade the reader to reconsider his or her attitudes towards the natural world.

Part of Coleridge's technique is to personify aspects of nature as supernatural spirits, yet he does not on any level develop an argument for pantheism (the belief that God and the material world are one and the same and that God is present in everything). A great deal of Christian symbolism and some allegory are present—particularly at the end of Part 4, where connections are made between suffering, repentance, redemption, and penance. These elements combine to form a rich texture of both natural and religious symbolism that can be profoundly moving.

The major character in 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' is the mariner who relates his chilling experiences. It is he who kills the albatross, suffers the consequences, learns from his sufferings, and earns his redemption. As part of his penance, he spends his life telling his tale to others as a warning and a lesson. At first sight, the mariner appears terrifying in looks and manner, but he is so intense that the wedding guest is compelled to listen. As the tale unfolds, the wedding guest's reactions to the mariner change from scorn to sympathy, and finally even to pity. The wedding guest serves as a plot device to frame and advance the story, but he also undergoes a transformation of his own. Startled by the mariner who accosts him, the wedding guest first appears as a devil-may-care gallant. However, by the time he has heard the mariner's dreadful tale, he has become thoughtful and subdued.

The mariner's shipmates are innocent victims of his rash act. Like the members of the wedding party, the sailors are purposefully kept vague and undeveloped, since Coleridge's intent is that the audience focuses its full attention on the plight of the mariner.

Supernatural beings appear in the poem as symbolic or allegorical figures, representing the forces of nature, life, death, and retribution. The mariner confronts these figures and must ultimately appease them in order to obtain his salvation.

Answer 2

Since "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is commonly viewed as a Christian allegory, it could be argued that the killing of the albatross is Coleridge's analog of original sin.

Taken in this context, the mariner's actions can be construed as uncommonly cruel, which would be the very essence of what connects him to his humanity.

Then again, it's been ten years or more since I wrote a paper on this one. Best of luck.

Answer 3

It has been along time but I would say the Christian Soul, It symbolizes a sin to kill it and the saying"Hanging an Albatross around your neck" Means you are bowed down with a great weight that is hard to remove. It symbolizes unjust death. I will also put a link in and you can choose for yourself. This is a wonderful piece when studied properly.