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A Season in Hell (Cyclopedia of Literary Places)

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Places Discussed

Hell. Place of damned souls. As in the traditional story of Lucifer, the narrator has, for the sin of pride, been cast out of paradise—here represented as the licentiousness and naïve arrogance of his earlier poetic career. Rimbaud’s hell, however, seems to represent temporary confinement within one’s own selfish desires rather than eternal punishment. Indeed, the narrator relates that he has purged himself of desire and thus is ready to depart.

*Europe. The narrator’s home, whose drab, restricted way of life incited the rebellion that placed...

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