Comparing Viva La Vida And A Season In Hell

In today’s society, there is little agreement about what is moral. Even the most egregious abuses of forbidden laws show little disapproval, since there is an unwillingness to embrace a universal morality. Instead, we view morality as an incomprehensible tangle of competing sets of rights and wrongs. In contrast, both “Viva La Vida” and “A Season In Hell” offer opposing moralities and both are willing to prescribe their morality as superior to all others. “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay suggests the traditional Judeo-Christian western morality and “A Season in Hell” by Rimbaud espouses the Nihilistic moral subjectivism of believing there is no universal right and wrong.

On the one hand, Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” suggests the traditional Judeo-Christian

For example, there are many references to biblical allusions, from Jesus Christ to Lot and his wife, to John the Baptist. Specifically, the speaker’s claim that he “used to rule the world” (Coldplay l. 1), shows he had total domination, like how Jesus did. Even suggesting that he could make “the seas rise when [he] gave the word” (Coldplay l. 2) like Christ did in the Bible when he walked on water and when he calmed the seas by only speaking to them. Ironically, the speaker of the poem was morally in opposition to all Christ taught while he was king. Only founding the Christian morality when he lost his power. The reason he lost his power was that The Speaker found the foundation he built his life upon was morally unstable. The metaphors of “pillars of salt and pillars of sand” (Coldplay l. 13) are further biblical allusions to show what really maters morally to the speaker. The “pillar of salt” refers to the bible story of Lot and his wife. Lot’s wife looked back on the evil she left behind with longing and was turned into a pillar of salt. The pillar of sand refers to Christ’s parable about the wise and foolish man. The speaker sees that he was the foolish man Christ describes and worries that he will look back on what he lost with longing. These many references prove that the morality is deeply entrenched in the traditional Judeo-Christian western morality

Ultimately, creating a base of honesty, serving, and good will. For when the Speaker had authority, there “was never an honest word”. As a result, his kingdom saw past all the erroneous ideas he aforementioned. In juxtaposition, when he fled from power, he finally understood that “Saint Peter will [only] call [his] name” when he becomes righteous. Acting in accord with divine law, being free from guilt and sin. Thus, arising from an outraged sense of justice. Signifying that good is good and bad is bad. Striving to be truthful, helping, and good