The Geography of Butler's Hell from Dante's Inferno
Matt Whited
Professor Fyfe
ENL106-01
Option #5
Final Paper
The geography of each hell and its denizens changes drastically through out the decades, as literature is spread across the world. The earliest piece that I chose to examine was Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, which dates back to sometime between 1265 and 1321. I also chose Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus (1564-1593), Jean Paul Sartre’s No Exit (1945) to show the transformation over time. The final piece of literature that I picked, and also found was most compelling, was Robert Olen Butler’s Hell (2009). While all these works of literature relate to the topic of Hell, the time era in which each was written greatly influenced the outcome of each story, as well as the overall moral. Dante’s Inferno is by far the most important piece of literature in this analysis paper because it shaped and greatly influenced all three other pieces of literature for the years to come. At the time in Dante’s life, previous to when he began his work on the Inferno, the struggle between church and state for authority weighed heavily on the citizens of Florence. Dante was apart of the White Guelphs, who supported the independence of Florence from strict control of the Pope. This would lead him to be exiled from Florence once the Pope was restored his power, and would be the incentive for him to write the Inferno. Dante references many of his political enemies throughout his journey of the Inferno. He first meets Filippo Argenti, a Black Guelph who believed the Church should have full control of state, in the Fifth Circle of Hell where the Wrathful spend eternity tearing each other to pieces. He then encounters another rival politician, Farinata, in the Sixth Circle of Hell where the Heretics reside. He also references Pope Bonafice VIII in the Eighth Circle of Hell, placing him there for falsely using his power as the Pope to persuade the state. The geography of each circle changes, progressively getting more
Professor Fyfe
ENL106-01
Option #5
Final Paper
The geography of each hell and its denizens changes drastically through out the decades, as literature is spread across the world. The earliest piece that I chose to examine was Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, which dates back to sometime between 1265 and 1321. I also chose Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus (1564-1593), Jean Paul Sartre’s No Exit (1945) to show the transformation over time. The final piece of literature that I picked, and also found was most compelling, was Robert Olen Butler’s Hell (2009). While all these works of literature relate to the topic of Hell, the time era in which each was written greatly influenced the outcome of each story, as well as the overall moral. Dante’s Inferno is by far the most important piece of literature in this analysis paper because it shaped and greatly influenced all three other pieces of literature for the years to come. At the time in Dante’s life, previous to when he began his work on the Inferno, the struggle between church and state for authority weighed heavily on the citizens of Florence. Dante was apart of the White Guelphs, who supported the independence of Florence from strict control of the Pope. This would lead him to be exiled from Florence once the Pope was restored his power, and would be the incentive for him to write the Inferno. Dante references many of his political enemies throughout his journey of the Inferno. He first meets Filippo Argenti, a Black Guelph who believed the Church should have full control of state, in the Fifth Circle of Hell where the Wrathful spend eternity tearing each other to pieces. He then encounters another rival politician, Farinata, in the Sixth Circle of Hell where the Heretics reside. He also references Pope Bonafice VIII in the Eighth Circle of Hell, placing him there for falsely using his power as the Pope to persuade the state. The geography of each circle changes, progressively getting more
Cited: Butler, Robert Olen. Hell. New York: Grove, 2009. Print. Dante, Alighieri, and Mark Musa. The Divine Comedy: Volume 1. Inferno. Vol. 1. London: Penguin, 2003. Print Marlowe, Christopher, and David Wootton. Doctor Faustus with The English Faust Book. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2005. Print. Sartre, Jean-Paul. No Exit; a Play in One Act. New York: French, 1958. Print.