Satanic References in Literature Depictions of the ultimate force of evil have existed for thousands of years. In Christianity, the name Satan or Lucifer has been given to define this evil, depicting him as a half human and half goat. Lucifer is fabled to exist since the beginning of time. Due to Lucifer being the representation of the most ancient evil, he is presented in many different forms in dark literature. This is shown in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”
Hell isn’t all they crack it up to be, honestly. In the stories, it’s all fire, hopeless souls hopelessly screaming, endless pain. I mean, yeah, there’s fire. Lots of it.
I agree with Jonathan because being a religious person, I believe Hell is a place that is hard to comprehend, I believe that the
His attempts at bringing about the downfall of Adam and Eve, as well as his encounters and interactions with the rest of God’s creation, address the initiation stage. The return is depicted in Satan’s venture back into the underworld, as well as the consequences that fall on everyone, following his actions
Edwards does the exact opposite. He repeatedly talks about the flames of hell and how they will burn for eternity. The idea of the devil is also very much woven into the work. When talking about those who have fallen away he said “The devil stands ready to fall on them and seize them as his own at what moment God shall permit him.” As if this isn’t already terrifying enough he goes on to describe hell, “The pit is prepared, the fire is made ready, the furnace is now hot, ready to recover them; the flames do now rage and
In Dante's Inferno, Dante who is main character is getting a tour of hell by his tour guide Virgil. Virgil his tour guide presents to him all the nine levels of hell, including the punishments the sinners must suffer with for all eternity. In the ninth level of hell, the worst sinners are frozen in a giant lake. The sinners are then eaten alive by whom is so called satan. According to Dante, Satan is described as “Than do the giants with those arms of his; consider now how great must that whole, which unto such a part conforms itself… O, what a marvel it appeared to me, when i beheld three faces on his head!
‘To Make Still Finer Mirrors of My Eyes’: Transformative Light in Dante’s Paradiso In medieval thought every star in the cosmos took its light from the sun, the brightest light in the universe. In Paradiso Dante engages in this belief, allegorizing it to represent God as the sun and the rest of creation as the stars. By using overt theological metaphors for light, mirrors, and reflections, he constructed a hierarchy of light in which God, the Living Light and the source of all light in the universe, is the purest form of light and as such reflects divine light on to the rest of creation.
In Dante’s Inferno, Dante Alighieri's depiction of Satan at the bottom of hell reveals the theme that in Hell the punishment is always befitting of the due to the fact that the lower you go, the farther that person is from god. The picture of Satan satisfies the reader because he shows that he is the opposite of god and that he is full of evil. Lucifer is the demon in the circles of hell which he has three faces, and bat like wings in which he creates the cold wind where the sinners suffer. “The face in the middle was red, the color of anger. The face on the right was white blended with yellow, the color of impotence.
While both works have similarities in their portrayal of sin, punishment, and redemption, they have their own distinct approach in the themes and literary style. To begin with, Dante’s “Inferno” is a piece of literature that describes Dante’s journey through the underworld with his guide Virgil. Dante and Virgil journey through the nine circles of Hell, and within each circle people are being punished for a sin that they committed in their earthly lives. Each circle serves as a different punishment depending on the sin that that person committed. In the first circle of Hell, this is known as Limbo where people who were not able to be baptized or not taught about God have to go.
Satan is similar to the Monster in a way that he is also alone. Satan is also made in the appearance of God like Adam is. Though the Creature is not made in any image of his creator, he still states, “Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition, for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me” (Shelley 124). The Monster is able to relate to Lucifer’s relationship with his creator. They are both disturbed and angry for the way they end up becoming.
Thayer states that the word “hell” actually comes from the hebrew word sheol meaning “The place or state of the dead” (44) Not only is the word hell used for the
My knowledge of the Bible is limited to what was reiterated to me in church. Growing up, I was taught that Satan was once a good angel who rebelled against and disobeyed God because he was jealous and wanted to be more powerful than God. I never questioned this because I thought seeking answers and clarification would be going against God. For some Christians, Satan is the
In Dante’s Inferno, he writes about his journey through hell for the purpose of recognizing his sins. He goes through this journey with Virgil, a voice of reason for Dante. Dante meets people through his journey of the many circles in the Inferno that lead him down into the center of hell, where Satan is. Satan is seen as being monster-like with three heads, representing a mocking of the Trinity and blowing his wings around the cocytus river. The final thing seen here is the fact that Dante’s description of Satan is a bit disappointing compared to the other descriptions he has written about the inferno.
Within John Milton’s books “Paradise Lost” he creates Satan as the greater character over God. One who works through the individuals to create havoc. Satan is able to skew the minds of man to do what he wants with that individual and to counteract the word of God. A well known example was then Satan manipulated Eve to eat from the fruit of knowledge of Good and Evil. Though some critics may say that within Eve was Satan’s ultimate defeat others may say Satan’s evil soul is embedded in Adam and Eve, soon enough they are kicked from the palace of lush gardens, and everlasting life.
As Louis L. Martz dictates in his piece titled, “Paradise Lost: The Realms of Light,” Satan’s descent into Hell, following banishment from Heaven, catalyzes the entrance of light and dark imagery into the novel. Satan, now barred from the, “happy Realms of Light,” recognizes his separation from his former alliance with the divine essence (qtd in Martz 72.) In his brief period of grief, Satan finds himself struggling towards the light that radiates from Heaven, signaling the presence of innate light still within the fallen being. However, this light soon becomes squandered when Satan finds it, “better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven,” (1.263) In his decision, the prevalence of darkness within Hell increases and eventually seeps into the secular realms created by God.
