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A
comparative essay should make an argument about at least two texts that enriches our
understanding of both of them in a way that would not be possible were we to
only examine each text on its own. 
Write a 5-6 page comparative essay that will address The Merchant of Venice and a few texts of your choosing from The
Decameron by Boccaccio, following these guidelines:
·      
Let
us presume the following division of The Decameron readings:
o   four longer texts: Introduction,
2.7, 2.9, and 10.9
o   five shorter texts: Preface,
1.2, 1.3, 3.10, and the Epilogue
·      
Overall,
you must write on either two or three Decameron texts.
·      
Of
these, you may choose one or two of the longer texts.
Prompt
How
does religion facilitate trade or commerce in these texts? In your essay,
analyze the ways that commercial activity shapes the interactions between
religious groups, particularly where one group has more power than another.
What sorts of relationships come about as a result of commercial exchanges
between members of different religious groups? You may wish to consider the
place of gender, legal norms, or social conventions (these suggestions are
meant to prompt your thinking; do not attempt to address them all in
list-like fashion).
Through
your readings of The Merchant of Venice and
one of the above texts, discuss the ways in which economic activity heightens
tensions between religious groups and/or encourages religious tolerance and
understanding.
“FORMATTING”
·      
Please use double-spaced pages and Times New
Roman 12 pt. font. In the body of your essay, do not add extra lines between
paragraphs.
·      
Include your name and page numbers in a header
in the upper-right corner of every page (as above).
·      
On your first page, before the text of your
assignment begins, include the following on separate lines along the left
margin: your name, the date, and the assignment information (e.g. Essay #1).
Skip one line, and then place the title of your paper in the center between
quotation marks. In your title, capitalize all nouns, verbs, pronouns, adverbs,
and adjectives, as well as the first and last word that follows any colon or
semicolon (as above)
·      
Titles of books, films, albums, plays, journals,
and collections/anthologies go in italics.
·      
Titles of short stories, songs, poems,
paintings, book chapters, and articles go in “Quotation Marks.”
·      
Place only one space after a period.
·      
When writing about literary texts, always
use the present tense.
o  
Correct: In The Ring of the Dove,
Ibn Hazm articulates his views about love.  
·      
But when quoting the text directly, keep the original pronouns and verb
tenses.
o  
Correct: Samuel ha-Nagid writes,
“I quartered the troops for the night in a
fortress which soldiers destroyed long ago
/ and they fell asleep at its walls…” (Cole 66)
o  
Incorrect: Samuel ha-Nagid wrote, “[He]
quartered the troops… / and they [fall] asleep at its walls”.
·      
IMPORTANT: Include a Works Cited in MLA
format. Further MLA guidelines may be found at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/.