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In the last few months I have read three different books centered around Hell: Dante's Inferno, The Screwtape Letters, and No Exit. They were all distinctly different. These differences are reflective of the authors' time periods and messages they meant to send. Dante's Inferno was written during the Italian Renaissance. His purpose in writing the Divine Comedy was to challenge specific people in his contemporary society. The format of Dante's work was in poetry. Therefore his Hell was aimed at the more educated that would understand and appreciate his art. The Screwtape Letters was published in 1942 in the midst of World War II. C.S. Lewis's intended audience was Christians. His Hell included ideas that are at least somewhat biblically based and the issues he addresses would be familiar to a Christian audience. As evidenced by the title, the format of the book is a correspondence. His Hell is seen from one side (demon's perspective) whereas Dante's Hell is seen from a narrator, and many different characters throughout the book. Sartre's Hell in No Exit is seen from only the perspective of the sufferers of Hell. The format of the work is in a play. Thus Sartre's audience is much broader being aimed at the general public. Hell in Sartre's play is shown with a message of existentialism. His play says "we are but the summation of our actions," and "Hell is other people." C.S. Lewis's book aims to show the intricacies of the spiritual realm; and Dante's work shows the seriousness of sins on Earth. Hell means different things to different people in different settings. This is evident through these three Hell centered books as they portray different messages through the same setting through different formats to very different audiences.
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