Nowe i stare mapy piekła w literaturze „fantasy” i „science fiction”

Abstract

The new and old maps of Hell in fantasy and science fiction literature

This article takes up an issue of Hell and its sources of attraction in popular literature. The article is divided into four parts. The first part is concerned with the Hell’s images which exist in various mythologies. The second part is dedicated to many examples of mythopoeic Hells in fantasy. The author is focused on Hell’s source, structure, form and its fictional schemata. What is more he characterizes the creatures who live in Spirit World. The maps of the hells in science fiction are another problem of this article. The author states that while the Hell in fantasy has mythic dimension, the Hell in science fiction is described as technological here and now. The last part considers unholy functions beyond the formal and content structure of the literary work. Moreover, the author attempts to consider these functions on anthropological horizon.