Abstract This paper explains that the Short Tailed Albatross has declined in population due to feather hunters in the late nineteenth century and collecting eggs for food, feathers to insulate quilts and pillows and for writing to quills. The paper relates that governments are implementing regulations in an effort to protect this species from potential extinction.
From the Paper "The Short-Tailed Albatross has perpetually decreased in population, especially in the Northern Hawaiian Islands. The decline is a direct result of hunting at breeding colonies over the years. The Albatross was/is killed for their eggs for food, and feathers to insulate down quilts, pillows, and sometimes hats. Writing quills were made out of wing and tail feathers while the rest of their body was processed into fertilizer. However, governments are implementing regulations in an effort to protect this species from potential extinction."
Abstract There is much controversy on Samuel Taylor Coleridge writing "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" because of its religious overtones. The symbolic purpose of the Albatross and the Mariner's type of religious consciousness are issues discussed in this paper.
Abstract Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" encompasses the ideals of Dark Romanticism in mid-19th century European poetry. The Dark Romantic movement, also know as Neo-Gothicism, is characterized by a solitary quest that is doomed to fail or lead to an unhappy life. This paper shows how "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" embodies these ideals by glorifying death as a positive experience that frees the soul from the bondage of life, while the Mariner has to continue his life alone in a literal curse.
From the Paper "As the ship approaches land "the ship went down like lead" (l. 550). Yet the Mariner again eludes death and is rescued by a hermit and two other men. After escaping death so many times, the Mariner seems to pride himself on own good fortune. However, the Mariner has simply forgotten that his life is now controlled by Life-in-Death, which will eventually prove to be worse then Death. The Mariner is pulled from the water and asks his rescuer, a hermit, to "shrieve me [the mariner]" (l. 574) for the sins he committed on the ship."
Abstract This paper considers the issue of animism and the role it plays in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." Specifically, it addresses the contentions that "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" forwards a belief in animism and how it proposes that God can be found in creatures of all forms and functions. It also discusses how the poem portrays a breakdown in the division between heaven and hell.
From the Paper "Heaven and hell seem to reside on the earth itself, with justice and retribution being decided and carried out in the here and now. By killing the Albatross for no justifiable reason, The Ancient Mariner's transgression is punished directly and swiftly. Coleridge forwards a world in which the scales of justice are weighed and decided by the entities which exist and reside in and upon the world itself. Additionally, God, Death, Guardian Angels, and the like all come down to the earth itself to exert their influence. Reward and punishment are not things to be awaited in the after life, but rather things to be bestowed or endured in the present."
Abstract Turning away from the satire of the 18th century, Romanticism stressed the expression of the individual through creative means. This paper explains that common themes in Romantic poetry included: The use of excessive imagination, nature, exotic or foreign places, outcasts of society or the lower classes of society, the past, excessive emotion and a passion for the wild or the unfamiliar. Using Samuel Taylor Coleridge's work, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", the paper shows how these recurring themes are used throughout the poem.
Paper Outline:
Introduction
Use of Excessive Imagination
Use of Nature
Poets Have a Passion for the Wild and the Unfamiliar
Use of Exotic or Foreign Places
Use of Outcasts of Society
Use of the Past
Use of Excessive Emotion
References
From the Paper "Coleridge's Ancient Mariner is but one of the many repenting wanderers of Romantic poetry. Shunned by society and cursed by nature for his killing of the albatross, the Mariner is condemned to wander the earth warning others about the sacredness of life by relating his extraordinary encounter. While the Mariner can never recompense for his act, his internal goodness was revealed in his sudden appreciation for all forms of life while he was suffering in his solitude."
Abstract This paper discusses patriarchy, the social system still prevalent today, whereby males are still perceived as the "strong" one and that boys naturally will be more active, demanding, noisy, and competitive than girls. The paper concludes that what began in prehistoric times as a cooperative system for survival, has become an albatross and we are stuck with living in a patriarchal society where women are to some extent, still oppressed.
From the Paper "Boys will consistently get more attention and more of the teacher's time. While girls will be expected to raise their hands before speaking (and corrected if they don't), boys will be allowed to blurt out answers in class. Girls will be "less likely to be called on by name ...asked fewer complex and abstract questions, receive less praise or constructive feedback, and ... given less direction on how to do things..." (Sadker, 2002, p. 239). Later on, boys will enroll in advanced computer classes, but girls will be in word processing and other clerical support programs (Sadker, 2002). Eventually, all this will be reflected in the careers they choose. Women will enroll in college programs to be teachers, social workers, nurses, and librarians, but only 7-14% of the men will enroll in these programs. Men will go instead where there is money and power."
Abstract This paper compares William Blakes' poem "The Book of Thel" to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner". In particular, the paper looks at how both authors cherish even the most insignificant of creatures from the worm, in "The Book of Thel", to the sea snake like creatures, in "Rime of the Ancient Mariner". Moreover in both poems an aspect of nature has a major role, whether it is the clod of clay or the albatross. The paper discusses how the overwhelming power that nature displays in both authors' poetry gives the reader a clear view of how the poets project the Pantheistic views found so common in the Romantic era.
From the Paper "A common principle found amongst Romantics like Blake is the equality of all of God's creatures. Coleridge affirmed this belief in the equal respect of all animals, which he shows us in much of his poetry. In his poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner he gives the reader multiple lines that display his position that all creatures share an equal part of universe. Coleridge has the mariner suffer extensively for his injustice towards the albatross. Coleridge expresses the mariner's sorrow when he states, "And I had done a hellish thing, and it would work'em woe: For all averred I had killed the bird that made the breeze blow" (pt 2 pg 8). This quote displays Coleridge's attitude toward animals because of how much he makes the mariner suffer for murdering the albatross. "
