Professor Tyler Thompson RWS-100

“Inferno”is the first part of Dante Alighieri’s 14th century epic allegory, the Divine Comedy, whichopens on the evening of Good Friday in the year1300. Sean Meredith’s film, Dante’s Inferno, and Sandow Birk and Marcus Sanders’ book translation of the poem present new translations with contemporary takes which suggest modern arguments of what Hell may entail for those currently living life on earth.

For this project, given the historical and cultural differences of Dante’s Hell and that of these modern translations, analyze the rhetorical claims made by the textual and visual evidence presented in the new translations. Citespecific examples of visual or textual rhetorical argument, how they are used to support the main claim behind the new translation as a whole, how supporting claims, evidence, and strategies enhance the main argument.

Criteria

• Accurately describeMeredith’s project and

main claim.(Or Birk and Sanders’)

• Signal the topic and give a clear indication

of how the paper will proceed.

.

• Locateand identify two to foursupporting

claims fromthe modern translation.

• Analyze these claims using evidence in order to

show how they support the arguments.

• Present evidence that explains in detail how

the film/textsupports and enhances

the arguments.

• Use an effective structure that carefully guides

the reader from one idea to the next, edited so

that sentences are readable and appropriate for

an academic paper.

• Correct MLA format (See Keys for Writers),

size 12 Times New Roman font, Include a

properly formatted Works Cited.

•Length: 3-6 pages.

Special MLA Instructions

In the interest of clearly indicating the original poem versus the film translation when referring to Dante’s Inferno, for your papers please adhere to the following MLA instructions:

1) Refer to Dante Alighieri’s original epic poem as, “Inferno,” using quotations.

2) Refer to Sean Meredith’s film translation as, Dante’s Inferno.

3) Refer to Sandow Birk and Marcus Sanders’ book translation as Inferno.

Also, please use Dante as the author’s referenced name instead of Alighieri. I.E. “Dante suggests” instead of “Alighieri suggests.”

In the case of classic poems and verse from the likes of Shakespeare and Dante, omit page numbers for in-text citations. Instead, cite by textual division (act, scene, canto, book, part, etc.) For Dante, on first reference, include last name/Canto/canto #/line#:

In “Inferno,” Dante suggests that love motivates him to embark on a journey through hell, speaking of Beatrice, "Her eyes were flashing brighter than the stars" (Dante canto 2.55).

On second and subsequent referencesomit “canto” but continue citing canto # and line #, with periods separating the numbers. However the numbers are formatted in the original, use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3).Don't label the divisions in parentheticals or uselorllto denote lines because these can be confused with numbers (though you may use division names in the text: "In the sixth canto Dante meets a man transformed into a pig"). Example of subsequent reference:

When he steps into the tenth and final circle of hell, that Dante could “hardly see in front” of him,emphasizes the treacherous territory of the traitorous and how their sins represent the darkest of all mankind’s behaviors (Dante31.11).

For Works Cited Page:

Dante Alighieri.Dante's Inferno. Ed. and trans. Mark Musa. Bloomington, Indiana UP,
1995. Print.

See Keys for Writers for more info.