In Coleridge’s poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” the mariner sees an albatross while aboard his ship and decides to shoot it. Some critics believe this bird is a symbol of God’s plan for the mariner, or some spiritual symbol, and his killing of the creature resulted in a domino effect of terrible tragedies/obstacles he must overcome. Later in the poem, the crew wraps the dead albatross around his neck, serving as a symbol of burden and regret. Everything that happens with the albatross is a metaphor for a curse that falls upon the mariner and his crew for interrupting God’s plan.
In Shelley’s poem, “To a Skylark,” the speaker addresses the skylark as a “blithe Spirit” whose song comes from heaven (line 1). The skylark is mysterious to everyone who observes it and is described as a “poet hidden/ In the light of thought,” (lines 36-37). The narrator looks to the bird for guidance, which is the opposite of the events that unfold in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” Shelley writes, “Teach me half the gladness/ That thy brain must know,/ Such harmonious madness/ From my lips would flow/ The world should listen then, as I am listening now,” (101-105).
I wonder if the poets’ religious affiliations have anything to do with their portrayal of birds in their poems?
Great question, Zoe! There are lots of birds in Romantic period poetry (and in poetry generally, I would say), and certainly birds have been symbolic of religious beliefs for thousands of years. The nature writer Terry Tempest Williams calls them mediators between heaven and earth.