Saturday, November 1, 2014

You're Going In The Hole

Last night while casually trying to get on Gerald Martin's boat, I made the mistake of stepping through a hole that lead to the engine room. While falling I thought of Dante. I know, I know, that sounds absolutely ridiculous. But when I was falling I thought of Satan's descent to Hell. And as I hit the bottom I felt the pain of what I thought was a broken foot, but was really a bruise. It was terrifying. The thought of being in the dark and not knowing what was around me or where I was going. I feel like that is what the fallen angels felt like. They were in a strange environment, hurt from the previous battle, and not sure how to climb up and return from the descent.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

This is what humanities does to us! While falling to your possible demise (or... a bruise), you thought of Dante! Anyway, this reminds me of the scene in Paradise Lost where the fallen angels wake up in Hell and are all paralyzed. While they slowly wake up, they realize what has happened to them. They are all afraid and angry at Satan. Satan has to give a rousing speech to keep the fallen angels from attacking him.

Unknown said...

I think it is interesting how in Dante's inferno the angels seem to not rebel against Satan as the angles do in Paradise Lost. I feel that the angels in Dante's Inferno are much more obedient to the guard or the "authoritative figure" in the different circles. As Isabel mentioned, in Paradise Lost, in this particular scene Satan has to convince the angels to not rebel. I think that there is much more tension between angels and Satan in Paradise lost than the angels and Satan or their guards in Dante's inferno.I think the contrast in the relationship between Satan or the guards and the angels in hell is really interesting.

Unknown said...

I agree with Tiffany. In paradise lost, belzebub tried to convince satan to submit to God after the war in heaven when God threw them in hell. In Dante's inferno, the rebel angels seem to disregard Satan and live their own lives in certain areas of hell. Satan seems to reside in Judecca and leave them to reside in their own circles