Abstract                  

As is well-known to all, the Bible has a profound impact on literature in the west. Devil Satan has long been a prototype of devil in the emerging and evolving process of literature with its literary images becoming increasingly full and complex. It is the most typical sinner in the west. Regarded as the evil criminal who lures people to darkness and corruption, Satan will always be God's curse. Both Satan’s character and its personality deserve our deep inspection. Also, Satans created in four different periods in western literary history offer us a sight into the formation of the image as well as the development of its trajectory. The meaning behind the image of Satan helps us further understand and deepen our appreciation of the culture of Western literary and the ideology of the Christian, which enables us to study English literature in a better way. This thesis aims to discuss the image of Satan mainly based on three masterpieces: the Bible, the Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost as well as some recent works. As long as Literature does not stop exploring the dialectical relationship between virtue and vice, the image of Satan will continue to enrich human’s understanding of the world and of themselves.

Key words: Satan; image; literature; development

摘 要

《圣经》对西方文学影响至深,其中魔鬼撒旦作为恶魔的原型在之后的文学作品中不断出现并演变,其文学形象日益地丰满和复杂。它是西方最典型的罪人——作为将人类引诱向黑暗、堕落和邪恶的罪犯永远受到上帝的诅咒。撒旦这个人物不管是在形象上还是性格上,都存在着很大的张力。研究西方文学史中四个不同时期创作的撒旦形象可以很好地展现出其形象生成和发展的轨迹。对撒旦形象背后的意义的了解更有助于我们进一步欣赏西方文学并加深对基督教文化和思想意识的了解, 从而更好地学习、欣赏乃至研究英美文学作品。本文旨在通过对描写撒旦的三部主要作品《圣经》、《失乐园》、《神曲》中魔鬼形象的重点解读，以及对20世纪以来英美现代文学中撒旦现象的简略概括，剖析西方文学史中不同时期创作的撒旦形象，从而展现出其形象生成和发展的轨迹。文学只要不停止对善恶辩证关系的思考和表现,撒旦形象便会一直向前发展,并不断丰富人类对世界和自我的认知。
   
关键词：撒旦;形象;文学;发展

I. Introduction

   As we all know, the ancient Greek civilization has a profound impact on the occurrence and the development of Western art and a civilization – the ancient Hebraic civilization so that the influencing power of Western culture should not be underestimated. The Bible, as a masterpiece of Hebraic works, is not just a nation's religious book, but also a highly artistic and ideological literature classic. The images of God and man shaped in the Bible give birth to a variety of prototypes and continue to appear in the future literary works. Among those dramatic figures there is one image which is very unique and far-reaching, and it can be said that in any of a literary work his shadow can be seen. The image is the devil (Satan).