“Ah ! Well a day ! What evil looks Had I from old and young ! Instead of the cross, the Albatross About my neck was hung.”

Question

Read the extracts given below and complete the statements that follow :

“Ah ! Well a day ! What evil looks

Had I from old and young !

Instead of the cross, the Albatross

About my neck was hung.”

(a) Why did the speaker have evil looks from the mariners?

(b) Why did they hang the albatross around the speaker’s neck?

(c) What does the word ‘evil’ mean?

(d) Who does ‘Old and Young’ refer to? 

Answer 1

(a) They held him responsible for their sufferings as he had killed the Albatross

Value Points :

(b) as a mark of his sin and guilt / as a punishment for killing the harmless albatross.

Detailed Answer :

They hung albatross around the speakers neck as a mark of his sin and guilt or as a punishment for killing harmless albatross.

(c) bad/ blaming / angry / wicked /accusative 

(d) ‘Old and Young’ refers to the other mariners on the ship.