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There is two allusions mentioned throughout the 8th Canto. The first is when Virgil blesses Dante with the same words spoken to bless mother Mary. It is ironic because Virgil is blessing Dante and relating him to Jesus, just justifying his anger. Dante has just done a very hateful thing, yet Virgil praises him for it. The second is when Dante enters the City of Dis and the gate has already been broken. This is referring to Jesus' pillage on the city, when he rescued all the lost souls and challenged the Devil. Dante and Virgil are following in the footsteps of Jesus, but in a disgraceful way.
There are four main icons in the 8th Canto. Virgil and Dante are taken across the River of Styx by the boatman called Phlegyas. As they cross, Dante is grabbed by a tortured soul mentioned as Filippo Argenti. Phlegyas is the mortal son of Mars, and represents the lesson of self-control. Filippo was a florentine nobleman only known for Dante's hate towards him. He wasn't really a bad guy, and not much is known about why Dante hated him so much.
When Dante is crossing the River of Styx with Virgil, he feels no pity. He knows that most of the people in the swamp deserve to be there, and as soon as they are out of sight forgets them.
In the 8th Canto, The irony in the sin and Contrapasso is with the sinner's lust for violence. They were hateful and violent as a choice in their life, and now they are forced to fight each other in the River Styx and feel only regret for what they had done.
Dante Doesn't really talk to any of the damned souls, but he is grabbed by a tormented soul off the side of the boat and questioned why he is in Hell before his time. He answers that he is not there to stay, and Virgil tosses his hand off back into the swamp.
Those condemned as wrathful are now cursed to forever fight each other for air in the black swamps and muck of the River of Styx.
All of Hell seems a little harsh, but I would say that it is not only ironic but fair for the sinners in the River of Styx. They are treated the same way they treated others.
The 8th Canto is reserved for the Wrathful, those who have lived an aggressive and idle life now suffer for it by being choked and trapped in the mashes and black swamps of the River of Styx.
The 8th Canto is in the 5th level of Hell, and the 5th Circle transitioning to the 6th. It is the entrance to the City of Dis, and the River of Styx passes through it to carry new souls into deeper levels of Hell.
The only actual symbol in the 8th Canto was relating to Dante. It was putting Dante in the position of Jesus, and showing how he acted differently. Dante felt that whatever he did in Hell was an improvement, because after all nothing is more evil than Satan, but he was actually disgracing what Jesus had done in the past.