Is Dante's Inferno Suitable for a High School Student?

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Hello All,

I needed a place where I could ask this question without feeling silly in front of my friends, and I happen to know that people on here are relatively intelligent.

I am a high school student of what I would say above average reading skill and comprehension, and I was wondering would it be premature of me to read Dante's Inferno (and the rest of Divine Comedy possibly) now, instead of waiting until college or later.

Thank you.


For reference, my last two books were Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and The Grand Design by Steven Hawking.
 
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Vorde said:
Hello All,

I needed a place where I could ask this question without feeling silly in front of my friends, and I happen to know that people on here are relatively intelligent.

I am a high school student of what I would say above average reading skill and comprehension, and I was wondering would it be premature of me to read Dante's Inferno (and the rest of Divine Comedy possibly) now, instead of waiting until college or later.

Thank you.


For reference, my last two books were Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and The Grand Design by Steven Hawking.

You are certainly capable of reading it now; it will probably be an enjoyable and fairly rewarding experience. I would actually recommend that you go ahead and do it, if you plan on re-reading it in the future. If you have already decided that you will only be reading it once then I would wait, however.

As to be expected of a writer of Dante's calibre, he draws heavily upon both classical, neo-classical, and Christian medieval tradition; the more you immerse yourself in these traditions, the richer the reading will be. If you read it now, you can expect that after you have learned more, the next time you read it you will look back and laugh at what you might see as a rather sophomoric attempt. Even so, the great works of literature only reveal themselves after several close readings, so if you begin now, you are paving the way for a richer reading the next time, and then the time after that, ad infinitum. At the very least you'll have a skeletal outline of the events, if not a full appreciation of Dante's erudition.
 
For a full reading experience, find a site with some explanations on the net. Not that you need it to understand the book, but it'll enhance your pleasure...
 
I just read it last year. I recommend it.
 
I read it after school and at the time wished I'd read it sooner, but I take Energystrom's point that I probably wouldn't have appreciated it as much. So, if you do read it now, do read it again later
or take the time to research it while you do. My husband studied it in HS English- lucky!