“A moment this, when I would fain have gone by another road..."
. . . . .
The poets climb to the top of the stony chasm that ends the eighth circle and they begin their approach to the ninth and final circle, which is a great, dark pit filled with ice and cold, strong winds caused by Lucifer beating his wings This canto functions largely as a device to get the poets to the final circle, Cocytus, where Satan resides, and it also serves to introduce the reader to the next division of hell. The Giants serve as another terror that Dante must encounter and can also be read as symbols for the worst that human nature has to offer — these beasts are powerful slaves to their passions. This canto revolves around the pride of the Giants and also explains the extreme evil of these Giants as intellect joined with brute force and evil will.