The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #64597   Message #1060637
Posted By: McGrath of Harlow
25-Nov-03 - 12:18 PM
Thread Name: BS: Master and Commander FSOTW reviews
Subject: RE: BS: Master and Commander FSOTW reviews
I don't think there's any evidence of sailors thinking it unlucky to kill an albatross, prior to Coleridge.

And even in the Ancient Mariner, the first reaction of the sailors when the bird is shot is that it was a bird of ill omen, and that shooting it was a good idea. It's only when things go wrong with the voyage they decide it was unlucky to shoot it.