for no apparent reason Essentially the murder stands for the mariner's arrogance and disregard for the natural world It is in his tongue And I had done a hellish thing And it would work 'em woe For all averred I had killed the bird That made the breeze to blow The befallen curse The Ancient Mariner and his two hundred comrades endure much suffering after slaying the Albatross Due to a lack of wind and tide their ship remains immobile when it enters the Pacific Ocean The sun is brightly shining above Due to a lack of water their throats are so dry that they cannot speak His comrades blame him for their suffering and hang the dead albatross around his neck as a punishment Relief from the curse All his comrades eventually die and he is left alone on the vast sea Inside the ship's shadow the old sailor observes some colorful water snakes one day They are vivid green and black They leave trails in the water as they move and swim resembling flashes of golden light in moonlight He is overwhelmed with affection for them and unknowingly blesses them The dead albatross slides from his neck as soon as he shows sincere love to the water snakes and is free of his curse Here is a quotation regarding his release He prayeth best who loveth best All things both great and small For the dear God who loveth us He made and loveth all Here the poet says they pray to God earnestly who loves all creatures equally In conclusion the old sailor kills the albatross Because of his arrogance and disregard for nature The killing of the bird signifies humanity's environmental exploitation and the curse that befalls the mariner and his crew is a warning about the consequences of this exploitation