Anyone read Dante's Inferno? The Divine Comedy. I'm having trouble grasping it.?

Question

What's the summary. It's kinda difficult to understand, is there a lesson learned from this poem?

Answer 1

Dante dies and visits all the different levels of h**l.  In some levels criminals are upside down with their feet sticking out of a lake of pitch (byproduct of a steel mill) and demons fly around jabbing them with pitchforks in the feet.  Dante meets friends and evil doers and learns what it takes to reside in the lowest levels of h**l, where you spend eternity near the devil.  

The suffering of sinners is so brilliantly and lyrically described like a great poem or Shakespear play.  The devine comedy is the inspiration for other poets, playwrights and even filmmakers.  Victorian beliefs, christian religious belief, and Classic morals and values and are endlessly detailed.  Live in sin and join the ranks of the condemned in h**l.  Live in conflict with sin and good and enter purgatorio (Purgatory).  Beauty can be found through religious inspiration for creating master works of opera, classical musical scores, novels, and poems.

Answer 2

Dante is lost, both physically (in a forest) and spiritually.  He's looking for direction.  Along comes Vergil (author of "The Aeneid" and much more) and gives him a personal tour of h**l, level by level.  Dante talks to some of its inhabitants.

To my mind, the most interesting thing about The Inferno is how each punishment so perfectly fits each sin in terms of severity and mode.  

The lesson is:  Obey God's will, or pay the price for all eternity.