Significance of the Albatross

While roaming across the web for pictures including “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” the majority of the pictures found showed an albatross. Could this be a sign to show how much the albatross meant to the story, or was it all just accidental? From what I have read in the poem for the first time, the random albatross at sea definitely caught my eye. When I started to get engaged into the story, I had so many questions for Samuel Coleridge, but after reading the entire poem I finally realized the significance of the albatross. From how I see it, the albatross is supposed to be the focal point to show readers what’s right from wrong. In the picture the albatross is flying above what seems like people and materials. When things start to get rattled up and the Mariner kills the albatross, the bird can no longer fly. When the albatross is alive and healthy everything is going well with no problems at all. When the Mariner spontaneously decides to kill the albatross, that’s when things started to go downhill. People started dying, rain was pouring down and the wind was blowing furiously. Without the albatross in the story, there would be no significance. The bird shows the importance of life. When you take something’s life, the favor will be returned. Just like the quote that states “an eye for an eye.” In the poem Coleridge says “He prayeth well, who loveth well Both man and bird and beast.” I think that he’s trying to say when you do well for others, good things will happen to you. Lastly, I believe that the albatross show’s a person’s pride. When the bird was active and flying, it was smooth sailing for the Mariner and his crew. But when things turned around for the albatross, so did things for the Mariner. The picture above shows how beautiful an albatross can really be and how much a simple little bird can truly mean and affect one’s life.