Stratford-Upon-Hell

A rewriting of Dante Alighieri’s ‘The Divine Comedy’: Inferno

It was a strikingly hot Friday afternoon. The sun seems to boil to its highest degrees, sucking out the energy from every single person alive. It doesn’t apply to Ms. Trish however, her feline eyes were flashing with excitement. With a high grey bun on top of her head and her chest boasted, Ms. Trish show full authority of her class. Her high croaky voice seems to be louder and louder as she began reading the verses of the three weird sisters.

         “   In the cauldron boil and bake;

Eye of lizard, toe of frog,

Fur of bat, and tongue of dog,

Adder’s fangs, and serpent’s sting,

Lizard’s leg, and young owl’s wing,

For a charm of powerful trouble

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. ”

At the back of the classroom, young Flynn Oswald was like the toad in the witches’ boiling cauldron. His head was spinning round and round because of drowsiness and his body was sweating like hell as if being punished by the dry humid weather. In a sudden his stomach was feeling all funny. Could it be the cheese burger that he ate in the cafeteria? He hoped not. He doesn’t want to be food poisoned just now. He’s trying the best he can to stay awake because no one would like to be caught sleeping in Mrs. Trish’s class. But then again he can’t stand his heavy eye lids that try to shut him off with the world while his stomach started to ache like mad. On top of all that, what could be worse is Ms. Trish’s high croaky voice that’s getting higher, sharper and irritating as if ushering him to the gates of Dante’s Inferno. How the heavens above tease him for being too reckless with food. He should’ve known better not to eat that cursed cheese burger. Ms. Trish’s raspy voice started to fade and his heavy eye lids refuse to surrender, the last thing he heard was:

“By the Pricking of my thumbs,

  Something wicked this way comes.

  Open, locks,

  Whoever knocks!”

Everything suddenly went dark. It was all casket-black darkness; Flynn could hear nothing but silence. Then, from thin air, a bright luminescent light appeared. He could slowly see a really huge and magnificent bronze gate in front of him, opened. He is pretty much conscious that he’s actually dreaming or at least that is what he hoped for. Yes, Just a nice ordinary dream. To make sure, he decided to ask an odd looking mustached man wearing a terribly out dated clothes, standing just outside the gates.

“Umm, excuse me Sir, what place is this?”

“Well hello there Flynn Oswald, I’ve been expecting you, but not this early I must say. You’re outside the gates of inferno. It’s Italian for hell by the way.”

“Does that mean I’m dead?”

“No, not at all my dear boy. You’re just lost. Since you’re here, I want to take you for a stroll to Paradiso. We’ll have a chit-chat and a cup of afternoon Tea with Duncan and Cordelia at Romeo’s and Juliet’s place. Julie got herself a new set of anti-poison tea cups that she wanted to show off. I don’t know if Imo and Cymbeline will be joining us for today; there’s a thing to be settled down between them. Ooh and Ophelia, you certainly should meet her, but be careful if she asked you to play by the river.  I have to remind you that before we get there we must walk through inferno. Yes, I know it’s a very long walk, but what else could we do? Recently, the V&S cruise ship that regularly sails across the river Styx stopped operating. I guess it’s because they got shipwrecked most of the time. Well what are you waiting for? Come follow me. I’ve never had quite a job since I quit the Globe.”

“Oo..okay Mr..”

“Sir. You can call me Sir Will.”

Flynn followed the odd looking man pass through the huge bronze gate. What bothered him the most was not the fact that he was about to enter the nine circles of hell but it’s the man who looked suspiciously similar to the portraits he usually finds in his drama text book. Who else would it possibly be, if not the one and only Sir William Shakespeare?


Dian Chairunnisa

She’s a curious reader and a passionate dreamer who loves rainy days and a good book. You could reach her at @dianissa or dian.chairunnisa112@gmail.com