Visual Sequence
The beginning of the song starts with the Archdeacon swinging the incense-filled thurible, as he and his altar servers walk through Notre Dame, chanting the beginning of the Confiteor. The camera pans upwards to the famous "rose window", and flies through it and over Paris, revealing that all the lights in the city are going out as people are turning in for the night. The only light that remains is the light in the Palace of Justice, where Frollo gazes out at Notre Dame from his window, pleading with the Virgin Mary to save him from temptation. Frollo then calmly walks to the fireplace, singing about how he lusts for Esmeralda. During this, a fire apparition of Esmeralda dances provocatively in the flames.
Through the second verse, Frollo draws away from the fireplace, revealing a piece of silk that Esmeralda had used to tease him earlier in the film. Frollo sings about how he lusts for her and resents her for it. He accuses her of turning him to sin and denies his own culpability as red-hooded figures rise from the floor, chanting 'Mea culpa' ("my fault"). Frollo runs through the chamber, with the cloaked figures standing on either side of him. He desperately pleads with them for forgiveness, claiming that Esmeralda had cast a spell on him and tempted him. The hooded figures turn into flames, enveloping Frollo as they return to the fireplace as if dragging him down into Hell (foreshadowing his fate).
Frollo continues singing, pleading to Mary to rescue him from Esmeralda's voluptous temptations that would lead to his eternal damnation. He holds out the scarf and clenches it angrily, stating that Esmeralda must choose him or burn. The fire apparition of Esmeralda re-appears, but her provocative dancing is replaced by her shriek-filled writhing as she is burned at the stake. A smoke apparition of Esmeralda then emerges from the fireplace (pictured above), and as it embraces Frollo passionately, there is a knock at the door. The apparition disappears as a guard enters, telling Frollo that Esmeralda escaped from the Cathedral of Notre Dame where Frollo had "imprisoned" her. Frollo vows to find her, even if it means burning Paris to the ground. The guard leaves, and Frollo continues singing, telling Esmeralda that he will give her an ultimatum: she must choose to be his lover or she will burn. Frollo throws Esmeralda's scarf into the fireplace, symbolically burning her as well.
In the final verse, Frollo backs up against a wall, asking God to have mercy on both him and Esmeralda. As he sings, shadowy figures holding crucifixes emerge from the light of the fireplace and fly past Frollo. Frollo drops to his knees, saying that Esmeralda will be his love or she will burn in Hell. Finishing the song, Frollo passes out and falls face down on the floor in the shape of a crucifix as the fire goes out.
Read more about this topic: Hellfire (song)
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