Intertextuality between William

Blakes The Marriage of Heaven

and Hell and Dante Alighieris
Divine Comedy (Inferno)
Daniela Monroy Fraustro
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TECNOLGICO DE MONTERREY CAMPUS ESTADO DE MXICO

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Contents

Contents............................................................................................................. 1
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................ 3
CHAPTER ONE:................................................................................................. 4
What is intertextuality..................................................................................... 4
1.1. -Julia Kristeva............................................................................................ 4
1.1.1

Desire in Language..........................................................................5

1.1.2

Smitik....................................................................................... 5

1.2. - Gerard Genette....................................................................................... 6

1.2.1

The Architexte: An Introduction.......................................................6

1.2.2

Palimpsests: Literature in the Second Degree.................................6

CHAPTER TWO:................................................................................................ 6
Intertextuality between Divine Comedy (Inferno) and The Marriage of Heaven
and Hell............................................................................................................ 6
2.1. - Settings.................................................................................................. 6
2.2 Symbols..................................................................................................... 7
2.3 Political Approach...................................................................................... 7
References.......................................................................................................... 9
Works Cited....................................................................................................... 10

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INTRODUCTION
The extended essay will constitute of an analysis of two literary works (William Blakes
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell and Dante Alighieris Divine Comedy (Inferno)), and
also, it is important to emphasize the fact that the structure of the extended essay is that one
of a comparative essay. The thing to contrast in the essay is the intertextuality between both
works. Throughout history, there have been many authors that have given a meaning to the
theory of intertextuality, such as Julia Kristeva, Gerard Genette, Hans Robert Jauss or
Harold Bloom (Ryan); in the essay I will use two of these authors (Genette and Kristeva) to
explain the meaning of the term and the characteristics that are found in both texts (The
Marriage of Heaven and Hell and Divine Comedy (Inferno)).
One of the main reasons that I am doing this research is that the impact of Dante on
English writers is very big but has been rarely analysed; writers such as Byron, Shelley,
Keats, Coleridge, Blake and Wordsworth used Dantes work as a trigger and starting point
to produce their own material. They were affected by his style, project and achievement,
which provoked their attention and disagreement (Pite) and thus, lead to their own works
with differing approaches. For example, in Pites The Circle of Our Vision: Dantes
Presence in English Romantic Poetry it is illustrated how Dantes religion clashed with the
eighteenth-century Anglican thoughts that English writers (including Blake) had about the
afterlife. Also, as mentioned in the review of Pites book in the Bars Bulletin & Review no.
15 of the British Association for Romantic Studies: Like Albert S. Roe (Blakes
Illustrations to the Divine Comedy, Princeton, 1953), Pite believes that Blake shares this
criticism [conflict between XVIII Century Anglican thoughts and Dantes religion] and that

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he considers Dante to be a supporter of the Law of the Old Testament (Braid 15). These
examples portray a view that explains that there is definitely influence from Dantes Divine
Comedy in Blakes work, which is one of the principal reasons that I am doing the extended
essay on this particular subject.
Arising from the influence of Dante within Blakes materials, and how that
influence has been reviewed very little (Pite), is that I create my research problem. The
specific thing in which it is based is: How can both texts, Dante Alighieris Divine Comedy
(Inferno) and William Blakes The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, be related and compared
to each other using the theory of intertextuality. This investigation subject is important to
the research world because it defines clearly by important and specialized authors the
meaning of intertextuality, and applies it to important and relevant works (Divine Comedy
(Inferno) and The Marriage of Heaven and Hell) that have transcended through time and
changed peoples perspective. Also, since Dantes influence in English writers has not been
under very deep investigation, this extended essay will help the reader understand more
about the way Dantes work affected Blake and how he interpreted and made use it for his
own material while using specialized literature language.

CHAPTER ONE:

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What is intertextuality
1.1. -Julia Kristeva
One of the most important authors that has talked about the theory of intertextuality
is Bulgarian- French literary critic Julia Kristeva; through different books and essays she
build a thesis which explains that a text a thing alone, hermetic or a self- defined cultural
object. Every text is within a referral system: which include a heterogenous and polysemic
network of references, quotations, citations and influences (Department of English, The
University of Burdwan 1). Books like A Desire in Language: A Semiotic Approach to
Literature and Art, Smitik: Searches for semanalysis or Language: The Unknown: An
Initiation into Linguistics also postulate that intertextuality is the sum of knowledge that
makes possible for the texts to have sense, which implicates that the meaning of a text
depends upon other texts (Culler 104).
1.1.1 A Desire in Language
In 1980 Julia Kristeva published her book A Desire in Language: A Semiotic
Approach to Literature and Art; book that was very important and significant in the

1.1.2 Smitik
Thesis
The intertextuality condition of any text whatsoever, obviously does not reduce to a
problem of sources or influences the intertext is a general field of anonymous formulas
whose origin is rarely detectable, quotes unconscious or automatic data without quotes.
Epistemologically, the concept of intertextuality is what brings the theory of the text
volume sociality: it's the past and contemporary language that comes to the text, not in the
way of a traceable lineage, voluntary imitation, but by that of a spread

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-Image that provides text status not a reproduction, but productivity. (2-1)

There are many things that exist within William Blakes The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
that are from Dante Alighieris Divine Comedy, specifically the part of the Inferno, those
things are what makes them have intertextuality; that is because of the relation between
areas of knowledge and beliefs, such as philosophy, history, religion, social sciences and art

1.2. - Gerard Genette

Another of the persons that has explained the term of intertextuality and who I will use as
one of the main authors in the essay is French literary theorist Gerard Genette. He is one of
the most important French theorists after Roland Barthes and is often associated by critics
to the structuralism movement. His work (viewed as an overall) in thirty years has a main
thread which is poetics: the study of shared or shareable properties of literary works
(Goreman 1); There are many books that reflect his interpretation in intertextuality and
poetic language function1, such as Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation, The Architexte:
An Introduction and Palimpsests: Literature in the Second Degree, those books that have
been recognized worldwide by the critics and contribute in many things to this Extended
Essay.
1.2.1 The Architexte: An Introduction

1 The poetic function of language is [to] focus on the message for its own
sake (The Technology Press of Massacltusetts Institute of Techtology and John
Wiley & Sons, Inc. 356)

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As mentioned in the brief introduction of Gerard Genette, one of his books that
explains the meaning of intertextuality is The Architexte: An Introduction; in chapter XI the
prose narrative that has been followed throughout the book changes into an interview. In
this interview, Gerard Genette, explains to his interviewer the way he interprets
intertextuality:
Intertextuality in the strict (and, since Julia Kristeva, the classical) sensethat is, the
literal presence (more or less literal, whether integral or not) of one text within another.
Quotationthat is, the explicit summoning up of a text that is both presented and distanced
by quotation marksis the most obvious example of this type of function, which comprises
many others as well. (Genette, The Achitexte: An Introduction 81-82)

This quote is very important because it explains the main difference that characterizes
intertextuality (which is the more or less literal presence of a text); that feature is the one
that differentiates other literature related words that should not be confused with
intertextuality, for example words like metatextuality 2 or hypertextuality 3.
1.2.2 Palimpsests: Literature in the Second Degree

In his book Palimpsests: Literature in the Second Degree Genette extends his
definition of intertextuality; he explains it in a more restrictive sense that expresses
intertextuality is the co-presence between two or several texts. That means that the presence
2 As Genette expresses it: The transtextual relationship that links a
commentary to the text it comments upon (without necessarily citing it.
(Genette, Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation xix)
3 The superimposition of a later text on an earlier one that includes all forms
of imitation, pastiche, and parody, as well as less obvious superimpositions
(Genette, Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation xix)

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of the text within another text has to be in an eidetically 4 or typically manner; which means
that it should be in its most explicit and literal form. Examples of this include quoting (with
quotation marks, with or without specific references); plagiarism, which is a less explicit
and canonical form in an undeclared way but with literal borrowing; and allusions (a less
explicit and less literal guise), it includes enunciations whose meaning presupposes that the
reader perceives a relationship between the text an another text (Genette, Palimpsests:
Literature in the Second Degree 1-2).

4 Relating to or denoting mental images having unusual vividness and details,

as if actually visible (Oxford University Press)

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CHAPTER TWO:
Intertextuality between Divine Comedy (Inferno) and The Marriage
of Heaven and Hell
2.1. Settings
2.1.1 Initial Setting
An important resemblance in the works, is the environment and setting that is created at the
beginning of both narrations. For example, in Canto number one, I found me in a gloomy
wood, astray/ gone from the path direct: and even to tell/ it were no easy task (Alighieri
19), the initial setting is very similar to that of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: Hungry
clouds swag on the deep. / Once meek, and in a perilous path, / the just man kept his course
along (Blake 114) that is because of the heavy atmosphere, and the symbolic use of a man
and a path. Even if the man in Dantes Divine Comedy is in an opposite situation than that
of Blakes Marriage of Heaven and Hell, one has lost the rightful path, and the other is
mentioned as a reference for people enhancing that they should retain the rightful path, the
use of concepts is the same. Since both have the same allusions that talk about a dark and
gloomy place, the intertextuality between texts is proved.
2.1.2 Mentor
One of the things that resemble in both works are the adjectives that are used in both
works, for example in Dante Alighieris Divine Comedy (Hell), the main character describes
the setting as:

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When I beheld him in the desert vast,/ Have pity on me, unto him I cried,/ Whicheer
thou art, or shade or real man!/ He answered me: Not man; man once I was, / []/ Now,
art thou that Virgilius []/ Thee it behoves to take another road,/ Responded he, when he
beheld me weeping, / If from tis savage place thou wouldst escape;/ []/ Therefore I think
and judge it for thy best/ Thou follow me, and I will be thy guide,/ And lead thee hence
through the eternal place (Alighieri 20-22)

That is the statement explains that the main character of the Divine Comedy, sees hell as a
thing which will destroy him. That idea is not present in the same way as in William
Blakes The Marriage of Heaven and Hell; Rintrah roars & shakes his fires in the
burdend air; / Hungry clouds swag on the deep. / Once meek, and in a perilous path, /The
just man kept his course along/ The vale of death. (Blake 114). That quote, verifies that in
the reading there is a poetic voice, but not a mentor who accompanies the man, as it can be
seen in the Divine Comedy (Hell). Those are examples that show the use of the literary
device of having a mentor, which associates with the theory of the hero. (Miller 13)
Another important resemblance in the works, is the environment and setting that is
created at the beginning of both narrations. For example, in Canto number one, I found me
in a gloomy wood, astray/ gone from the path direct: and even to tell/ it were no easy task
(Alighieri, The Divine Comedy 19), the initial setting is very similar to that of The
Marriage of Heaven and Hell: that is because of the heavy atmosphere, and the symbolic
use of a man and a path. Hungry clouds swag on the deep/ Once meek, and in a perilous
path,/ the just man kept his course along (Blake, Bilingual anthology 114). Even if the
man in Dantes Divine Comedy is in an opposite situation than that of Blakes Marriage of
Heaven and Hell, one has lost the rightful path, and the other is mentioned as a reference of

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just people that retain their way, the use of concepts is the same. Since both have the same
references, and it was proved that an author read the others text, the intertextuality that the
latest work has, is proved. (Fillola 53).

2.2 Symbols
2.3 Political Approach
Another relation to explain the intertextuality between The Marriage of Heaven and
Hell and the Divine Comedy, is the political approach in the texts. Dante goes through an
epic journey, which aims to reach God, however, it is also a critique to his contemporary
society (Alexander 67-70). The same happens in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, Blake
changes and criticizes societys view of heaven and hell; The crow wishd every thing was
black, the owl that every thing was white (Blake 126), that is the explanation that Blake
gives to the universe. There is no evil without good, same as a person can not be either
good or bad; both things reside in human beings (Press Syndicate of the University of
Cambridge 185).
. For example, in both works, the narrator is the author as a fictional character; In the
midway of this our mortal life, / I found me in a gloomy wood, astray (Alighieri 19) and
As I was walking among the fires of hell, delighted with the enjoyment of Genius, (Blake
118), are examples of quotes that exemplify the use of the literary device of imagining
themselves as the main characters.

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The differences between William Blakes The Marriage of Heaven and Hell and Dante
Alighieris Divine Comedy is what opposes the idea and use of the concept intertextuality;
that is because of the relation that cannot be made between areas of knowledge and beliefs,
such as philosophy, history, religion, social sciences and art.

References
Alighieri, Dante. The Inferno. Trans. John Ciardi. New York: Signet Classic, 2001.
30 March 2013.
Blake, William. Bilingual anthology; The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Madrid:
Alianza Editorial, 1987. 114-143. 31 October 2013.
Braid, Antonella. Ralph Pite, The Circle of Our Vision: Dante's Presence in
English Romantic review. Bars Bulletin & Review 15 (1999): 14-16. 3
February 2014.
<http://www.bars.ac.uk/documents/reviewdocs/pdf/15.pdf>.
Genette, Gerard. Palimpsests: Literature in the Second Degree. 1997. pdf. 27
January 2014. <http://books.google.es/books?
id=KbYzNp94C9oC&printsec=frontcover&hl=es#v=onepage&q&f=false
>.
. Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation. Trans. Jane E. Lewin. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1997. 8 February 2014.
. The Achitexte: An Introduction. Trans. Jane E.Lewin. Vol. 31 of Quantum
books. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1992. 17 February
2014.

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Goreman, David. Genette, Gerard. 2005. The Johns Hopkins University Press.
pdf. 10 February 2014.
<http://www.davidlavery.net/Courses/Narratology/JHGTC/genette.pdf>.
Haberer, Adolphe. Intertextuality in Theory and Practice. 2007. University of
Lyon 2. pdf. 13 February 2014.
<http://www.leidykla.eu/fileadmin/Literatura/49-5/str6.pdf>.
Oxford University Press. Oxford Dictionary. 2014. 19 February 2014.
<http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/eidetic?
q=eidetically#eidetic__4>.
Pite, Ralph. The Circle of Our Vision: Dante's Presence in English Romantic
Poetry. October 2011. 27 January 2014.
<http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/978019811
2945.001.0001/acprof-9780198112945>.
Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. The Cambridge Companion to
William Blake. Ed. Morris Eaves. Cambridge University Press, 2003. 30
October 2013. <http://books.google.com.mx/books?
id=yel1AU0YlGsC&hl=es&source=gbs_navlinks_s>.
Ryan, Judith. Comparative Literature 245: Intertextality. 2012. 17 February
2014. <http://scholar.harvard.edu/jryan/classes/comparative-literature245-intertextuality-0>.
The Technology Press of Massacltusetts Institute of Techtology and John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. Style in Language. 1960. pdf. 19 February 2014.

Works Cited
Alighieri, Dante. The Inferno. Trans. John Ciardi. New York: Signet Classic, 2001.
30 March 2013.
Blake, William. Bilingual anthology; The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Madrid:
Alianza Editorial, 1987. 114-143. 31 October 2013.
Braid, Antonella. Ralph Pite, The Circle of Our Vision: Dante's Presence in
English Romantic review. Bars Bulletin & Review 15 (1999): 14-16. 3
February 2014.
<http://www.bars.ac.uk/documents/reviewdocs/pdf/15.pdf>.
Genette, Gerard. Palimpsests: Literature in the Second Degree. 1997. pdf. 27
January 2014. <http://books.google.es/books?

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id=KbYzNp94C9oC&printsec=frontcover&hl=es#v=onepage&q&f=false
>.
. Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation. Trans. Jane E. Lewin. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1997. 8 February 2014.
. The Achitexte: An Introduction. Trans. Jane E.Lewin. Vol. 31 of Quantum
books. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1992. 17 February
2014.
Goreman, David. Genette, Gerard. 2005. The Johns Hopkins University Press.
pdf. 10 February 2014.
<http://www.davidlavery.net/Courses/Narratology/JHGTC/genette.pdf>.
Haberer, Adolphe. Intertextuality in Theory and Practice. 2007. University of
Lyon 2. pdf. 13 February 2014.
<http://www.leidykla.eu/fileadmin/Literatura/49-5/str6.pdf>.
Oxford University Press. Oxford Dictionary. 2014. 19 February 2014.
<http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/eidetic?
q=eidetically#eidetic__4>.
Pite, Ralph. The Circle of Our Vision: Dante's Presence in English Romantic
Poetry. October de 2011. 27 de January de 2014.
<http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/978019811
2945.001.0001/acprof-9780198112945>.
Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. The Cambridge Companion to
William Blake. Ed. Morris Eaves. Cambridge University Press, 2003. 30
October 2013. <http://books.google.com.mx/books?
id=yel1AU0YlGsC&hl=es&source=gbs_navlinks_s>.
Ryan, Judith. Comparative Literature 245: Intertextality. 2012. 17 February
2014. <http://scholar.harvard.edu/jryan/classes/comparative-literature245-intertextuality-0>.
The Technology Press of Massacltusetts Institute of Techtology and John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. Style in Language. 1960. pdf. 19 February 2014.