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Essay Instructions: does the inferno qualify as an epic? why or why not?
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER: does it take an epic approach to time? to narrative sequence?

Essay Instructions: -Is a formal, thesis-oriented paper interpretive and critical in nature.
-The goal is to carefully critique, evaluate, and analyze the material The Inferno in terms of the prompt below.
-Responses should be well-designed, carefully-constructed, focused, and sufficiently revised pieces of writing that articulate a central idea and offer insightful interpretations and reflections on the prompt.
-Should quote extensively from the original text and use MLA in-text citation format.
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Essay Prompt:

There are several images of physically monstrous hybrid creatures in the Inferno: Cerberus in the circle of the gluttonous, the Furies outside the City of Dis, the centaurs and Minotaur in the circle of the violent, Harpies in the circle of the suicides, Geryon in the circle of the fraudulent, Lucifer in the circle of the betrayers. Sinners are likewise dehumanized individuals, becoming more and more grotesque (physically and psychologically) as Dante descends further into Hell.

Consider what defines monstrosity in Dante’s worldview. Using three figures as symbolic representations analyze and discuss Dante’s cosmological classification of “the monstrous” in the Inferno.

Essay Instructions: Topic:
Are the theologies expressed in The Bhagavad-Gita and Dante's Inferno compatible? Explain what way(s) you think they are or are not and how significant any differences might be.

You must use The Bhagavad-Gita that was translated by Barbara Stoler Miller.

The paper must have at the most 6 quotations from the texts.

Essay Instructions: Something on Dante's Inferno: one of our readings.
Write an argumentative paper urging the reader to accept that one of the texts we have read this semester is most relevant or most valuable to an audience today. A useful way to approach this assignment is to put yourself in the position of a production assistant arguing for a new film or television version of the work. Another possibility is to urge a publisher to put out a new edition of the work that will emphasize the qualities that will resonate with a contemporary audience. You may, of course, choose some other scenario as well.
You will be expected to go beyond simple comments about plot??"although plot elements may easily contribute to the appeal of a work to a contemporary audience. In addition, discuss characterization, figurative language, themes, and cultural elements (how the work illuminates universal qualities of human culture, or a human culture of a specific time and place).
In addition, spend some time showing how you think the work you have chosen is superior for this purpose to one or two other works read for class. You may, for example, argue that the male-female dynamics of Chaucer’s Miller’s Tale are more common today, and reflect more of today’s relationship anxieties, than the particular male-female issues that come up in Oedipus the King or even The Odyssey. (You don’t have to take this position??"it’s just an example.)
To summarize, then:
1. State your case for choosing one particular work.
2. Provide evidence from the text to support your claims.
3. If necessary, cite other sources to support your claims.
4. Show that the work you advocate is a better choice than one or two others.
You can be quite efficient about all this. I expect the completed papers to be 500-750 words long.