Art, Symbol & Imagination
Sin and Death at Hell’s Gate
The standing traveller and the two guardians form a tense group at the threshold. Their contrasting bodies interrupt the route through the rocks, turning passage into confrontation. The printed verse belongs to Satan’s encounter with Sin and Death at the gates of Hell. Doré’s arrangement gives the barrier a personal form: the traveller must deal with beings whose relations to him become part of the poem’s account of evil. The opening beyond them promises a journey, but the clustered foreground keeps attention on the difficult meeting.
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Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "Sin and Death at Hell’s Gate" [editorial title]. In Paradise Lost: Illustrated by Gustave Doré, John Milton; illustrated by Gustave Doré; edited by Henry C. Walsh. Undated John W. Lovell Company edition; exact publication year unverified, undated edition, John W. Lovell Company. Source scan leaf 50. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/milton-dore-49
Source details
Editorial title and description. Source details from the Library catalogue.
Full source plate, printed verse caption and surrounding poem reviewed. Editorial title; original scan tonality retained. Over-dark plates excluded.
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Paradise Lost: Illustrated by Gustave DoréJohn Milton; illustrated by Gustave Doré; edited by Henry C. WalshUndated editionMore from this book
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Gustave Doré (design). Sin and Death at Hell’s Gate. Paradise Lost: Illustrated by Gustave Doré. Scan leaf 50. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/milton-dore-49