Life in Hell

their own fate they are considered a tragic hero and he definitely contributed to his own fate and his decisions decided that. Causing one's fate can be rather hard to do in a book because that requires them to make rather important decisions on their life. Brutus not only needs to make his decisions for himself but all of the conspirators. With this responsibility he is the tragic hero because he is deciding for everyone. Antony says, “Alas, good Cassius, do not think of him: if he love Caesar,…

11678-11829 In Part II, Act V, line 11678-11829 of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s tragic play Faust, Faust’s soul is rescued by angels. There have been many scholars that have interpreted this scene as representing the redemption of the protagonist after a life of evil and destruction (Van der Laan, 67). That view has now largely been rejected. An alternative reading of this scene would be to deny Faust any identity at all, and to subsequently attribute no special significance to the episode…

Hell, for some the final frontier, for others an overused swear word. Over the years there have been many who attempt to depict Hell, but two poets seem to have very similar depictions about their thoughts on such a place. Even though some things are different between the two, it could be argued that Virgil’s underworld inspires Dante's Hell because the reactions that Aeneas and Dante show when presented with events in hell are very similar, The Sybil and Aeneas act like a guide and follower…

accordingly. Since Aeneas was not meant to go there, the Sibyl helped him to understand what’s going on in the Tartarus with a great and much gory details than Homer’s description of punishments in Hades were, such as “… Here comes those who as long as life remained; Held brothers hateful, beat their parents, cheated; Poor men dependent on them; also those; Who hugged their newfound riches to themselves; And put nothing aside for relatives -…

world of Hell but also at the same time people still think of him as the embodiment of evil and all bad things. However, as the story progresses the readers begin to see some of the characteristics that make Satan who everyone makes him out to be. By not being prejudiced of the Bible audiences can see that Satan begins to tend more towards the evil/antagonistic character in “Paradise Lost” as he progresses…

Many view Satan as an abstract concept, but what is not realized is that Satan is real and that he wants our human souls. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis is a novel of thirty-one letters, written from an experienced devil, Screwtape, to his inexperienced nephew, Wormwood. In these letters, Screwtape suggests various ways Wormwood can distract his “patient”, specifically a middle aged male, from his faith in God. Screwtape's instructions include tempting the patient to rely on realistic…

The poem “January”, written by poet William Carlos Williams, uses imagery to paint a vivid picture in the mind of the reader. Williams also uses descriptive language and the metaphor of wind and the sentences the narrator is bound to, to exemplify the picture in the reader’s mind. A particular example of imagery in the poem is when William states “And the wind, as before fingers perfectly it’s derisive music.” In this quote, Williams expands to the senses of auditory and touch. He expands to…

In Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, Alighieri describes many punishments due to sin. Although this purpose might upset modern readers who do not think of themselves as sinners, Alighieri’s audience, however, believed the greater the sin, the greater the grace would be. Fully aware of their sins, the audience saw God’s overwhelming love manifested through the mercy of forgiveness, so they could have hope in the midst of the bleakness of sin. When reading Inferno, the reader must also remember that the…

Throughout the history of literature, countless authors have attempted to capture and offer unique interpretations on the concept of Hell. Many texts differ in their imaginations of Hell, largely because there is no definitive explanation as to whether Hell is a physical place or a mental experience. One of the most fascinating descriptions of Hell, and one which offers a stimulating perspective on Satan, is the Old English poem Genesis B found within the Junius Manuscript. Genesis B follows…

Helen Keller (the first deaf/blind person to ever receive a bachelor's degree in art) once said, “I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.” Darrell Schweitzer’s “Howling in the Dark” takes place in the state of Pennsylvania during winter. Joseph, a young boy, loves the darkness and the way it surrounds him. He meets the Stoneman who shows Joseph how to become the darkness or nothing. One lesson that the story suggests is that no matter how hard you work for…