Question

How does the poet describe the night when the albatross was hung around the ancient mariner's neck?

Answer 1

The ship sailed along merrily until it entered an uncharted part of the ocean, and the wind disappeared. The ship could not move, and sat "As idle as a painted ship / Upon a painted ocean." Then the sun became unbearably hot just as the sailors ran out of water, leading up to the most famous lines in the poem: "Water, water, every where, / And all the boards did shrink; / Water, water, every where, / Nor any drop to drink." The ocean became a horrifying place; the water churned with "slimy" creatures, and at night, eerie fires seemed to burn on the ocean's surface. Some of the sailors dreamed that an evil spirit had followed them from the icy world, and they all suffered from a thirst so terrible that they could not speak. To brand the Ancient Mariner for his crime and place the guilt on him and him alone, the sailors hung the Albatross's dead carcass around his neck.

Answer 2

The Ancient Mariner had shot the Albatross in a fit of instinct. After the death of the Albatross, the weather became  unfavourable for them to continue their journey. The wind died, the sun intensified and there was no rain.

The  ocean became “revolting”, “rotting” and “thrashing” with “slimy” creatures. The condition of the Mariners turned  out to be very pathetic. The Mariners felt that the absence of the Albatross was the reason for their suffering.

They  wanted to make him suffer for his crime as he had killed the bird that brought the wind and broke the ice.

All  eyes turned to him accusingly and the dead Albatross was hung round his neck in place of the holy cross round  his neck as a cursed reminder, so that the thought could plague him for the rest of his life.