Applying gathered feedback, you will use your outline from the previous step (from Module 4) to write an analysis of a medieval manuscript illustration and utilize the source text from the Bible to support it.
Instructions
Images are often created as a part of larger works. This is true of illustrated pages in medieval manuscripts, which correspond to the text of the Bible. Like any visual narrative, these illustrations are an interpretation of a story, but unlike Greek myths, these images are dependent on clearly defined source material that must be interpreted by the artist and viewer. Due to the limitations of the medium, the illustrator must make choices regarding how to tell the story, what parts of the story to tell, and what parts of the story to omit. Those choices often serve the artist’s, patron’s, or broader culture’s ideological motives and priorities.
In this assignment, you will use the outline you wrote in the previous step (from Module 4) to write an essay that analyzes the manuscript illustration utilizing both relevant vocabulary and carefully selected parts of the corresponding text. As with the Mythological Comparison, your paper must have the following: an introduction paragraph with a thesis statement, a formal analysis that supports that thesis, and a conclusion paragraph that reinforces that thesis and provides any additional interpretation to the reader.
Step 2: Write Your Paper
Using your reviewed and edited outline, write your paper. As you write your paper, make sure you have a strong introduction that sets up your topic and thesis statement, providing any background information about the myth or images necessary to understand your analysis. Your introduction should be around 150 to 200 words long. For your supporting analysis, remember to utilize the relevant vocabulary you have already learned and effectively transition from one point to another. Effective transitions help you connect the individual points of your argument to one another and to the argument as a whole.
The Purdue Owl provides some good background on transitions and useful devices for writing strong transitions.
Your supporting analysis should be 1000-1500 words long. Your paper should end with a strong conclusion that wraps up of any of your points, reinforces the argument, and provides any additional interpretation you would like to leave your reader. The conclusion should be 150 to 200 words long and not have any new points or supporting information.
Note: Citations
For this assignment, you will need to cite any sources you quote and/or paraphrase, using the Chicago Manual of Style. This means that you will need to have both footnotes and a works cited. To review the basic of citation, please consult the supplementary material provided with the M1 Essay, but citing the Bible is a little different than other sources. Your footnotes should include the specific passage’s Book, Chapter, Verse and Version—e.g. Genesis 19:5 NRSV. Consult this page for more information on how to cite this source.