/lit/ - Literature

Why is this book so hard to read? I am 100 pages in and I am thinking about giving up on it

I've read that the Hollander translation is particularly good, but I don't think that it flows as well as some translations that stay true to the original terza rima. Nevertheless, if there are no translations with that rhyme scheme that approach the level of accuracy of a translation without it, I would be fine with one without it. At the moment, I am a little way into the Inferno with the Sayers translation (the book I found on my shelf), but I'm not sure how accurate it is, and it is difficult in some places.

Can i read this without having read the bible?
Same question for Paradise Lost i guess.
I really want to read them, but the bible takes forever read from one end to another, so is it to read them before reading the bible, or should i just wait untill im done with the bible?