User:Kashmir2001/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
I am evaluating Ciampolo.

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I chose this article because there is little information about this cunning character from Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy and this article is overly reliant on primary sources. This article is important because it provides information on a memorable character (based on a real person) from a work that has been studied around the world for centuries, and thus provides greater understanding to the Divine Comedy. My preliminary impression of the article was that it is sparse; although it succinctly summarizes Ciampolo's role in the poem, it does not give any information about him beyond what is directly written in the Divine Comedy.

Lead section

 * The introductory sentence concisely and clearly defines who Ciampolo is but could specify that he is a sinner in the poem, and identify what sin he is being punished for.
 * His character's role in the poem and the little information we know about him historically is succinctly and clearly written.

Content

 * The content is well-balanced, covering Ciampolo's role in the poem and his biography.
 * All of the content is related to Ciampolo and is up-to-date, however it could be clarified that the devils did not simply "pull" Ciampolo out of the ditch, but caught him when he came to the surface for respite. Furthermore, contrapasso, an overarching theme in the poem, could be linked to the grafters' punishment in the pitch that "represents their sticky fingers and corrupt deals".
 * I recommend adding a section that delves further into the specifics of Ciampolo's presence in the poem, such as:
 * The specific devils that wound him on two occasions, Cirïatto and Libicocco.
 * Clarifying Ciampolo's situation where the devils are barely restrained from attacking him while Virgil and Dante question Ciambolo.
 * Ciampolo's identification of Dante's Tuscan dialect and Virgil's (surprising) Lombard dialect.
 * Ciampolo's identification of Fra Gomita and Michele Zanche, Italian civil servants, as fellow grafters in the eighth circle with him.
 * I also recommend adding a section of analysis bolstered by literary commentaries that provide further insight into Ciampolo's character, particularly since his historical information is so sparse, such as:
 * Ciampolo's bribe resounds with the fraud that he engaged in in civic life on Earth that he is now being punished for as he bargains for his own interest at the expense of others.
 * Ciampolo exposes the deceitful devils' barratry when they fall into the pitch.
 * The two devils that fall for Ciampolo's ruse, Caganazzo (who is suspicious) and Alichino (who is gullible), mirror Dante and Virgil respectively in the previous canto in their deal with the devils.
 * In comparison to Ciampolo's entry in The Dante Encyclopedia, the structure and content is overall the same as they both focus on Ciampolo's escape and their reliance on Dante for his biography. The only notable difference is that the Encyclopedia uses similes from the Divine Comedy in describing his encounter with the devils.

Tone and Balance

 * The article makes use of all the sparse information we have on the subject (that which Dante provided and the name which early commentators provided) so it does not overrepresent, underrepresent, or bias any viewpoint because only one exists.

Sources and References

 * The article only relies on the primary source of the Divine Comedy, so I recommend adding secondary sources such as The Dante Encyclopedia to confirm the historical consensus on Ciampolo.
 * A diverse collection of secondary sources from academic journals and such could be used in the character analysis section that I suggested earlier as the article currently does not have current, thorough, or diverse references.
 * The sole reference link to the Divine Comedy is in working condition.

Organization and writing quality

 * The main section this article has (the lead section) is clear, concise, professional, grammatically correct, and is clearly separated from the external links section where the primary source is linked.

Images and Media

 * The image of Ciampolo escaping the demons enhances understanding of his role in the plot which is clearly explained in the caption.
 * The image is laid out in a visually appealing manner as it is adjacent to the lead section so the readers' eyes can naturally follow the description of the escape to the image of the escape.
 * The image is in the public domain so it is not copyrighted.

Talk page discussion

 * There are no conversations but the article is under WikiProjects Novels, Fictional characters, (both of which categorize the article as stub-class and low-rated) Literature, (where it is rated stub-class) and Spain (whose relevance to Ciampolo escapes me).
 * One aspect of this hectic scene which we talked about In class and is absent from this article was how it more clearly demonstrates the comedic genre after which the poem is named.

Overall impressions

 * The overall status of the article is underdeveloped but containing all the basic elements of Ciampolo’s role in the poem and his biography.
 * The strengths of this article includes its succinct and clear writing that conveys the essentials of what there is to know of Ciampolo as well as the relevant image of Ciampolo's escape that enhances understanding of the scene.
 * Improvement could be made by adding a section that delves further into the plot and another section where various viewpoints are offered about the literary significance of Ciampolo as suggested in the content section of this evaluation.