An orphan's curse ....... I could not die. | The Rime of Ancient Mariner By S.T. Coleridge | Eureka Study Aids

An orphan's curse would drag to hell

A spirit from on high;

But oh! more horrible than that

Is the curse in a dead man's eye! 

Seven days, seven nights, I saw that curse, 

And yet I could not die. 

An orphan's curse .......... I could not die.

Reference
(i) Poem: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
(ii) Poet: Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Context
(i) Occurrence: Part IV (Lines 258 - 263)

(ii) Content: An ancient Mariner detains a Wedding Guest to narrate the story of a sailor. During a voyage, the sailor kills an albatross. This crime invites sufferings. After much suffering, he understands the oneness of God's creation and blesses the water snakes. This marks the breaking of the curse. However, the avenging spirit imposes a heavy penance on him. Finally the ship sinks and the sailor is saved in a pilot's boat. Ever since that day, the sailor rooms from land to land to relate his story.

Explanation

     In these lines the the speaker of the poem says that the curse of a murdered man is worse than the curse of an orphan. A curse is an appeal to a supernatural power or prayer for evil or misfortune to befall someone or something. An orphan, being a child deprived of one or both parents, is very dear to God. Any maltreatment or cruelty to this child may result into a curse. This curse is very powerful. It can drag even a blessed spirit from heaven to hell. However, the curse of a murdered man is more horrible than that of an orphan's. All members of the Mariner's crew except for the Mariner himself die for briefly condoning the shooting of the albatross. The eyes of the dead sailors are fixed on the Mariner with blame. The Mariner saw the curse in their eyes for seven days and nights but he could not die. No doubt, the Mariner has begun to understand and accept his responsibility for their deaths. In short, an orphan's curse can cause death but the curse of a murdered one can cause life-in-death.