Trekking Through the Inferno

It almost shocks me when someone responds "what is that?" when I tell them that I am reading the Inferno. You know, the Inferno, that poem written by Dante in the 1300s, devilishly detailing the disasters of hell? Yeah. Doesn't ring a bell for most people.

However, I will admit that while I have heard of the Inferno, and while I am over halfway through the first in the three-part series of the Comedia, I still have a difficult time understanding all there is to know. Yes, yes, I am aware that it is impossible to comprehend everything in my first read, but I still feel like there is something to the Comedy that is just going completely over my head. I am on Canto 25 and to be honest, I'm not sure what I have been reading for the past 6 weeks.

Thus inspired me to write this post, a compilation of tips/hints for reading the Inferno, or any of the poems in the Divine Comedy (including Purgatorio and Paradiso).

1. Read slowly. Trying to speed your way through the text won't get you anywhere. You'll only be left as confused as I am right now.
2. Try to locate the theme of each canto. The edition I am reading (Durling/Martinez translation) has section subheadings that *briefly* outline the characters and motifs in the canto, but sometimes that is very vauge.
3. Focus on the sinner narrating the canto
1. how does his/her personality reveal the nature of his/her sin?
2. what is the logic of the punishment? Dante uses a technique called contrapasso in most of the cantos - the punishment is a reversal of the sin.
3. how does this sin relate to the others in the poem?
4. Always, always, ALWAYS read the endnotes. Dante includes several historical tidbits that may have been common knowledge at one time (and probably only among Italians), but is now lost upon my modern mind.
5. Keep in mind that it is poetry. Instead of focusing on how difficult the text is, focus on the beauty of the language. I know, this is hard to do when looking at a translation; especially when the translation doesn't have any poetic flow. But Dante did something very beautiful here, and there is a reason why he is still being studied today.

Now, it is time that I use these tips a bit, and finish the Inferno before my break is over.

*tips pulled from this reddit post

*blog post I found on 10 reasons to read Dante