OnlineBookClub.org

I am about to read the inferno any tips or insight on the poem would be great

I would suggest making extensive use of any explanatory notes that accompany it. This helps in understanding the poem and the allusion to real people of the period in which it was written.

what i did was research it. but yes take notes everyone has a different way or understanding the poem

Absolutely, that it is one of the great things about reading, poetry or prose. They are subjective and we can all get different things out of them, view them differently.

Dante is on the level of Shakespeare and Milton. I'd recommend reading the entire Divine Comedy, if you have the time. And as mentioned above, it is much easier to understand with accompanying notes. I recommend the Hollanders' translation, the poetry and the extensive endnotes make it a beautiful read, and you can see the terza rima in the Italian on the facing page even if you can't speak the language. The meaning and messages become much easier to understand if you know who Dante is talking about and the context, which the endnotes will give you. The pre-canto outlines in the Hollanders' version are also helpful. Look for his use of similes and allusions. Ulysses is my favorite figure Dante meets. Just saying.

I'm sorry to say this but.. there's no point in reading 'La Divina Commedia' in english... I've read it and studied it in original language and I can tell that a good 90 % of the possible meanings lies in the magical way the original words were written, and in the multitude of meanings that every word has. The language Dante used for his book was the vernacular language that waved goodbye to ancient latin and welcomed the modern Italian language. Literally every word of the Divine Comedy has 4 -5 or more meanings, depending sometimes on the following and previous word or verse, interchanging connections with latin and popular sayings.
I'm not of course trying to say that you should just leave it or that you should learn the first official form of italian and their dialects, but I recommend to pay attention on accompanying notes, as well as provide a good knowledge of the historical context, in order to understand why is called 'Divine'

I would suggest you to make notes as you read the poem and you are doing something Divine by reading it.