The Constant Struggles In Circle Four

Thus we descended the dark scarp of Hell
to which all the evil of the Universe
comes home at last, into the Fourth Great Circle


and ledge of the abyss. O Holy Justice,
who could relate the agonies I saw!
What guilt is man that he can come to this?


Just as the surge Charybdis hurls to sea
crashes and breaks upon its countersurge,
so these shades dance and crash eternally.


Here, too, I saw a nation of lost souls,
far more than were above: they strained their chests
against enormous weights, and with mad howls


rolled them at one another. Then in haste
they rolled them back, one party shouting out:
"Why do you hoard? and the other: "Why do you waste?"


So back around that ring they puff and blow,
each faction to its course, until they reach
opposite sides, and screaming as they go


the madmen turn and start their weights again
to crash against the maniacs. And I,
watching, felt my heart contract with pain.


I chose these lines from Circle Four, because they reveal a theme of a strong sense of struggle between the Hoarders and the Wasters. When coming into this circle, Dante describes the circle as a dark Hell where all of the evil in the universe comes together on the ledge of the abyss. This abyss, could also represent the universe, because the universe itself is infinite and dark. So, in a way, this "evil" is gathering at a point of no return. When Dante sees this part of Hell, his mood is shown when he says, "O Holy Justice, / who could relate to the agonies I saw! / What guilt is man that he can come to this?"(52) Dante shows fearfulness, as well as questioning himself for what he is actually seeing. He ponders what man could have possibly done to end up in this place, and he thinks that no one would be able to relate to him. These are the first signs of Dante's internal struggle within himself. Since Dante is a poet, he must have been a fan of the ancient poet, Homer, who wrote, The Odyssey. Dante looks to Homer's work, because Dante mentions Charybdis (a great sea monster) in the Fourth Circle. Charybdis is portrayed in Homer's poem when she fights against Odysseus and his men. Dante compares Charybdis, and her constant warring of the sea, to the fight between the Hoarders and the Wasters. This further gives the Circle theme of struggle because of the mentioning of Charybdis by Dante.


After Charybdis, Dante states the struggles of the Hoarders and Wasters as well as within himself. He first depicts the souls by saying, "they strained their chests / against enormous weights, and with mad howls / rolled them at one another." (53) By witnessing this, Dante states not only were the souls in a constant struggle against themselves by being encumbered by their enormous weights, but they were also in fights with each other. What is also interesting, is that both opposing sides question each other by one shouting, "Why do you hoard?" and the other: "Why do you waste," (53) and this is interesting, because they never fully answer each other's question. This gives sense that there is internal struggle within because they can not admit why they hoard or waste. Overall, they are fighting with dead weights they have been burdened with in Hell, having an eternal struggle within themselves of not answering the question of why they hoard or waste, and also physical struggles with the opposing side. Dante also has his own personal struggle, when he mentions, "And I, / watching, felt my heart contract with pain." (53) Dante wants to be able to do something for the souls because he is saddened he can only watch at their dismay. Dante suffers along with the Hoarders and Wasters because he is also dealing with his own personal struggle of just having to stand by, and not by being able to help any soul he encounters in his trip through Hell.