Religion

Visions of Hell and the Afterlife

In the Norton anthology of Modern Poems , several poems depict the religious ideas of the time period . Many poems deal with the love of God , the beauty of God 's world or the power of religion . However , some poems are more ambiguous in their meanings they look upon religion and religious beliefs as confusing , even frightening . The follow six poems illuminate this particular theme : The Wasteland : I . Burial of the Dead ' by T .S . Eliot , Gerontion ' by T .S . Eliot , Dead Man 's Dump by Isaac

Rosenberg , Hell 's Gate ' by Robert Graves , A Strange Meeting ' by Wilfred Owen , and My Life Closed Twice Before Its Close by Emily Dickinson . These six poems reveal the confusing , fantastical and even terrifying side of religion

Several modern poems deal specifically with the concept of hell . The three poems in this study attempt to create and image and atmosphere of the afterlife , depicting hell as a place of torment and terror . Hell 's Gate ' by Robert Graves presents a speaker who tells of his fantastical journey into hell . He describes hell as a road that winds through shadows and fire . He is accompanied by a conductor , similar to Dante 's guide in The Inferno . As they near the end of their destination , the conductor confirms that the eternal masonry (ln . 14 ) is indeed the gate of hell (ln . 12 . Here , the speaker learns that all the damned are made to guard the gates of hell , all the while burning in its heat .Suddenly , the speaker realizes that he actually knows the man guarding the gates of hell . In explicably , the guard shoots the essences of Sin and Death . The second to last stanza describes the scene : And the hollowness of hell

Sounded as its master fell

And the mourning echo rolled

Ruin through his kingdom old

Tyranny and terror flown

Left a pair of friends alone

And beneath the nether sky

All that stirred was he and I

This terrifying journey to hell ends as the two friends triumph and are allowed to return home

Not all representations of hell end so positively . In Wilfred Owen 's Strange Meeting ' the speaker describes hell as a profound dull tunnel (ln . 2 ) in which he meets a hopeless man . The imagery in this poem is one of battle , implying that hell is constant fighting and perhaps that war is hell . This stranger recounts to the speaker the hopelessness he feels as he made the transition from a courageous and wise person , to one who has no hope left . He confesses , I am the enemy you killed , my friend (line 42 . Clearly this man is a symbol for violence , for the senseless killings of man . He could even be representative of Christ , who was purely good , but took on the sins of the world . Either way , it is clear that the speaker must make amends with this man before he is able to continue through the tunnel into the afterlife...