The ship is stuck on the calm sea for a long time. The Mariner and the sailors are hot, weary, and thirsty. After a while, the Mariner sees something approaching. As it gets closer, he recognizes it, but he is unable to tell the sailors what it is, due to his inability to speak because of intense thirst. The Mariner then explains to the guest that, “I bit my arm and suck’d the blood, / And cry’d, A sail! a sail!” (7).

At first, the sailors are overjoyed that the ship is approaching, as they are now sure that they will be saved. However, their joy soon turns to terror as they wonder how the ship can be moving when there is no breeze and no tide. As it gets closer, the crew can see that it is only the skeleton of a ship: “And strait the sun was fleck’d with bars / (Heaven’s mother send us grace) / As if thro’ a dungeon grate he peer’d / With broad and burning face” (8). Through the ribs of the ship,the Mariner can see there are only two passengers aboard: Death, and Life-in-Death. Life-in-Death has white skin, yellow hair, and red lips.