2014, March 29
Circle Four: The Hoarders and the Wasters In canto VII, Dante defines his views of Hell, specifically showcasing the place that the hoarders and wasters are eternally battling. Plutus, the demon, proclaims senseless words to Dante and Virgil, but Virgil quiets him instantly, presenting that Dante’s quest has been sanctioned by God and none can interfere. Misshapen and warped, the unrecognizable souls launch boulder-esque weights at their avaricious or prodigal counterparts. Calling them “lost souls” (VII, 27) Dante exemplifies their separation from God and Dante uses the weights the souls are pushing to display that they are burdened by the weight much like the weight they were oppressed by due to either the hoarding or the squandering of their money while alive. Comparing the actions to Charybdis as they “strained their chests against enormous weights, and with mad howls” (VII, 28), Dante demonstrates the deranged chaos that the hate driven battle created. Dante states that he feels his heart “contract with pain” (VII, 34) as he watches “when lust meets lust at two points of the circle” (VII, 44). He feels pity for the souls and Virgil informs him that most in this circle were corrupt clergymen. Dante compares Dame Fortune to an angel and proclaims her leader of their ranks saying “The nations rise and fall by her decree” (VII, 85). Showering Dame Fortune with accolades due to her escalated position, Dante explains that God has appointed Dame Fortune with the job of transferring worldly goods between people and nations.
Works cited
Alighieri, Dante. The inferno. Trans. John Ciardi. New York: Penguin Books, 2001. Print.
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