This article offers an analysis of Nick Hayes’s graphic novel The Rime of the Modern Mariner, a re-writing of S.T. Coleridge’s well-known lyrical ballad The Rime of Ancient Mariner. In the first part, this essay seeks to analyse the relationship between Arts—including Comics—and Ecocriticism by stressing the lack of seminal works concerning the two topics altogether. Furthermore, this paper also introduces the theme of plastic pollution while debating the presence of human debris on Earth alongside some philosophical considerations on plastic, whose timeless malevolence pollutes the Earth and threatens the lives of billions of humans and animals, spoils natural habitats and weakens the already fragile oceanic ecosystems. In the last part, this essay critically addresses Nick Hayes’s graphic novel in which he has tried to shed light on the condition of oceans by depicting a plasticised world where people in the city use tremendous amounts of plastic for everyday tasks and ultimately throw it away without thinking about the consequences that those acts could have on the ecosystem. The graphic novelist also makes good use of his own colour scheme, which is limited to four colours (blue, white, grey and brown), to convey a sense of either detachment or unification with Nature.

Plastic Timelessness in The Rime of the Modern Mariner

Manuel Zaniboni
2022-01-01

Abstract

This article offers an analysis of Nick Hayes’s graphic novel The Rime of the Modern Mariner, a re-writing of S.T. Coleridge’s well-known lyrical ballad The Rime of Ancient Mariner. In the first part, this essay seeks to analyse the relationship between Arts—including Comics—and Ecocriticism by stressing the lack of seminal works concerning the two topics altogether. Furthermore, this paper also introduces the theme of plastic pollution while debating the presence of human debris on Earth alongside some philosophical considerations on plastic, whose timeless malevolence pollutes the Earth and threatens the lives of billions of humans and animals, spoils natural habitats and weakens the already fragile oceanic ecosystems. In the last part, this essay critically addresses Nick Hayes’s graphic novel in which he has tried to shed light on the condition of oceans by depicting a plasticised world where people in the city use tremendous amounts of plastic for everyday tasks and ultimately throw it away without thinking about the consequences that those acts could have on the ecosystem. The graphic novelist also makes good use of his own colour scheme, which is limited to four colours (blue, white, grey and brown), to convey a sense of either detachment or unification with Nature.
2022
Plastic, Coleridge, Nick Hayes, Graphic Novels, Ecocriticism, Pollution
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11562/1049641
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