Dante Alighieri, how you vex me

I feel stupid.  So, so stupid. 

I'm know I read The Divine Comedy in college.  I think I read it... I'm sure it was assigned at any point, and I passed the class it was assigned in.  So imagine my vexation when I downloaded a copy of Inferno and felt like I was reading a completely foreign language.  It was then that I realized that I was indeed reading a foreign language as I had downloaded a copy in Italian.  This realization only made me feel marginally better, after I downloaded a new copy translated by the much esteemed Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  He wrote in English, correct?  I recall him as being a much-loved poet in my childhood, reading whatever poems deemed worth of "The Treasury of the Familiar."  I'm sure he wrote in English, I'm not exactly sure I speak and write in English though.  I think my brain has been damaged by so many readings of The Disney Princess Collection's "My Perfect Wedding". 

Alas, my kind Longfellow, who was so gracious as to translate Inferno from the original to English has lost me.  I am determined to not be thwarted by my lack of comprehensive ability.  I decide then to download the audio book and see if I can make sense out of it if someone reads it to me--not that I'm a terribly adept auditory learner, but I am determined to understand.  I started the recording, listen to the first 3 cantos and wake up when my husband kisses me goodnight.  Sigh.

I briefly consider trying to find a copy of Inferno that is translated into modern English, but this feels too much like defeat.  Did I mention I am determined to read this?  I am.  While my determination is strong, I can't help but be filled with regrets.  Regrets of letting myself lose my interests long enough that I can no longer just pick up and understand.  Its a lot like the piano that has come into my life recently.  The amount of practicing just to play something vaguely pleasant has taken me by surprise.  Can you practice comprehension like you can  music?  Do I have to start at Ode to Joy before I descend into the Inferno?

We'll see.  I'll let you know when I finish my first volume of the Divine Comedy.