I saw this was a current read in this group but had no discussion, so decided to start one. I saw someone else had described the poem saying, "For some reason the titular mariner has to shoot the bird down out of the sky and bad luck follows." The way I see it the problem that caused the bad luck to follow was that the bird was shot down, for no reason at all. I see this poem as being an early conservation story of great importance because the mariner's bad luck did not begin to turn until he accidentally blessed the slimy creatures that had earlier so revolted him. So the poem is making the point that, to the spirits of the universe, the small slimy un-charismatic creatures deserve to be valued just as much as beautiful charismatic animals like albatrosses. His blessing on the slimy things almost outweighed his killing of the albatross and it turned the curse around. Modern science agrees with Coleridge by teaching us that even the smallest least glamorous creatures, like flies and worms, have a vital part to play in our eco-system.
I saw someone else had described the poem saying, "For some reason the titular mariner has to shoot the bird down out of the sky and bad luck follows."
The way I see it the problem that caused the bad luck to follow was that the bird was shot down, for no reason at all.
I see this poem as being an early conservation story of great importance because the mariner's bad luck did not begin to turn until he accidentally blessed the slimy creatures that had earlier so revolted him. So the poem is making the point that, to the spirits of the universe, the small slimy un-charismatic creatures deserve to be valued just as much as beautiful charismatic animals like albatrosses.
His blessing on the slimy things almost outweighed his killing of the albatross and it turned the curse around.
Modern science agrees with Coleridge by teaching us that even the smallest least glamorous creatures, like flies and worms, have a vital part to play in our eco-system.