Choose one of the following topics, and develop it into a two-page essay (double-spaced), with relevant citations from the text.
1. Contrappasso is Dante’s term for the Law of Retribution, which is the relationship between the sin and its consequences in the after-life. Discuss how Dante employs it in Inferno.? ?
2. The rituals based on the Christian Sacraments are key elements in the structure of Purgatorio. Discuss how Dante portrays them through examples from the text. ? ?
3. Discuss the symbolism of the dreams in Dante’s works (you should use the three dreams in Purgatorio).
Notes:
?Submit the exam by attaching a Word file no later than Friday, October 31 12:00 Noon
Note: In case you are confused on how to handle citations from the text. Here is how to do it: if the citation comes from Inferno 14, ll 30-32, you write: (Inf. 14, 30-32).
Textbook:
1. Dante''s Vita Nuova, translated by Mark Musa
2. Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy (Translation, J. F. Cotter)
3. Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron. trans. M. Musa, New York: Norton, 1977