… and aren’t so many?
Samuel Taylor Coleridge lived from 1772 to 1834. He was often in ill-health, both physical and mentally. And he was a drug addict. Out of his anguish came this beautiful poem, which I first read, as so many of us did, in a high school English anthology. And I think I passed the test! Regrettably, it has taken more than half a century for a re-read, and there should have been at least a couple other re-reads along the way. Praise be to Kindle. It now makes the selection of particular “classical” works so easy, and often they are free, as this one was, and at your finger-tips within a minute or two.
As the title states, it is a poem that concerns an old sailor, his days at sea, and a very notable mistake. It is a poem told, inexplicably, or not, at a wedding feast, since it is a “life-lesson.” It is a sea trip from cold to warm. It is about being motionless at sea, because “For all averred, I killed the bird That made the breeze blow.” That bird was a harmless Albatross. And the following part of the poem has entered the English language as an apt metaphor for ill-considered actions that come back to haunt the doer: “Instead of the cross, the Albatross about my neck was hung.
The poem is also about remorse, and forgiveness, phrased as: “The man hath penance done, and penance more will do.” They do make it to that elusive safe-harbor. And Coleridge closes, with this most healthy and sane advice, about our place in the universe, and how we should treat others, of our species and not, both ‘great and small’: “He prayeth well, who loveth well, Both man and bird and beast. He prayeth best, who loveth best, All things both great and small; For the dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth all.”
It is a tight, fast-paced poem with memorable imagery, suitable to be read in high school still, or many years beyond. 5-stars.
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About the author
Beautiful Edition
This review is specifically for the October 1981 hardcover edition (the blue one with the feathers across the middle). If you, like me, were a little confused as to which review goes with which edition, I hope this review will help you.This edition is quite small, as the product dimensions state. However, it is beautifully done. The pages are silver and have a metallic sheen and the type, as well as the gorgeous engravings, are set in a deep blue ink. I cannot overstate how much this combination adds to the visual attractiveness of this edition. In addition, the book itself is cloth covered, there is no dust jacket.This edition does have some annotations in the margins, but by no means could they be considered exhaustive or even very academic. The annotations are much looser than other editions I've seen, so don't expect great philosophical musings regarding Coleridge's state of mind. There is however, a brief intro in this edition that gives a short synopsis of Coleridge's life.Please see the images section for a picture of one of the engravings inside this book. Just look for pictures uploaded under this Amazon username.
Top reviews from other countries
- AliceInWonderlandReviewed in Canada on December 9, 2022
EXQUISITE illustrations on HIGH QUALITY paper
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- George Thanos AssimakisReviewed in the United Kingdom on May 28, 2023
An excellent presentation.
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