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Albatross

Birds
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A symbolic burden in poetry, derived from Coleridge’s "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," representing guilt, consequence, or inescapable responsibility.

Detailed Definition
In poetry, "albatross" symbolizes a burdensome curse or guilt, famously derived from Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, where the killing of the bird brings supernatural retribution; the term now functions as a powerful metaphor for psychological or moral weight carried by a speaker or character.
Example
Example in poetry:
Albatross: In Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” the albatross symbolizes guilt and burden, hung around the mariner’s neck as punishment for his crime.
Additional Notes
Albatross: Symbolically derived from Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” where it represents guilt or burden; in poetry, often used metaphorically for a psychological or moral weight—note its transformation from omen to curse.
Other Meanings of “Albatross”
Also Known As
Burden Refrain curse Repeated weight Albatross around one's neck
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