What is the Decameron by Boccaccio?
The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men; they shelter in a secluded villa just outside Florence in order to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. Boccaccio probably conceived of the Decameron after the epidemic of 1348, and completed it by 1353.
What is the Decameron known for?
Decameron. Decameron, collection of tales by Giovanni Boccaccio, probably composed between 1349 and 1353. The work is regarded as a masterpiece of classical Italian prose. While romantic in tone and form, it breaks from medieval sensibility in its insistence on the human ability to overcome, even exploit, fortune.
When was Decameron written?
Decameron, collection of tales by Giovanni Boccaccio, probably composed between 1349 and 1353. The work is regarded as a masterpiece of classical Italian prose. While romantic in tone and form, it breaks from medieval sensibility in its insistence on the human ability to overcome, even exploit, fortune. Read More on This Topic.
Is there a movie based on the Decameron?
Film and television Decameron Nights (1953) was based on three of the tales and starred Louis Jourdan as Boccaccio. Pier Paolo Pasolini's The Decameron (1971) is an anthology film which includes nine of the stories. The 2007 film Virgin Territory is a romantic comedy based on the framing story of The Decameron.
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What type of story is The Decameron?
Decameron, collection of tales by Giovanni Boccaccio, probably composed between 1349 and 1353. The work is regarded as a masterpiece of classical Italian prose. While romantic in tone and form, it breaks from medieval sensibility in its insistence on the human ability to overcome, even exploit, fortune.
Why is it called a Decameron?
Derived from Greek, the word decameron means ten days and is an allusion to Saint Ambrose's Hexameron, a poetic account of the creation story, Genesis, told over six days. The Decameron is a tale of renewal and recreation in defiance of a decimating pandemic.
How many novels are in Dekameron?
The Decameron (c. 1351) is an entertaining series of one hundred stories written in the wake of the Black Death.
What is the difference between Canterbury Tales and Decameron?
Time of drafting It was drafted during the first half of the 14th century, more specifically between years 1348 and 1351. By contrast, The Canterbury tales were composed in the second half of the 14th century. Indeed the author began to write them down from 1386 until the year of his death, in 1400.
What is the main theme of Decameron?
The overall theme of The Decameron is the power of love to survive changes in fortune and to override human intelligence. By love, Boccaccio usually means romantic passion, including lust. He portrays love as a natural force that overcomes individual will.
How long does it take to read The Decameron?
The average reader will spend 17 hours and 4 minutes reading this book at 250 WPM (words per minute).
What does Decameron mean in English?
ten daysDecameron in American English (dɪˈkæmərən ) noun. a collection of a hundred tales by Boccaccio (published 1353), presented as stories told by a group of Florentines to while away ten days during a plague. Word origin. It Decamerone < Gr deka, ten + hēmera, day.
What does Decameron mean in Greek?
The book's primary title exemplifies Boccaccio's fondness for Greek philology: Decameron combines two Greek words, Greek: dÈka ("ten") and (Greek: hemÈra ("day"), to form a term that means "ten-day event". Ten days is the time period in which the characters of the frame story tell their tales.
How do you pronounce Decameron?
0:051:01How To Say Decameron - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipDe cameron de cameron de cameron de cameron de cameron de cameron.MoreDe cameron de cameron de cameron de cameron de cameron de cameron.
Why did the church ban The Decameron?
Borghini's approved edition implied that manuscripts of The Decameron had been mischievously distorted to include outrageous slights against the Church and its servants. The erotic elements, the 'obscenity', often key to a tale's plot and meaning, remained but all the references to the clergy had been removed.
Is Canterbury Tales based on Decameron?
Biggs, Author. A possible direct link between the two greatest literary collections of the fourteenth century, Boccaccio's Decameron and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, has long tantalized readers because these works share many stories, which are, moreover, placed in similar frames.
Why is Decameron important?
While primarily a work of fiction, the Introduction to The Decameron has emerged as an important historical record of the physical, psychological, and social effects of the aggressive spread of the previously unknown Yersina pestis bacteria.
How many pieces are in the Decameron?
Each rules for a day and sets stipulations for the daily tales to be told by all participants, resulting in a collection of 100 pieces. Each day ends with a canzone (song), and some of these represent Boccaccio’s finest poetry.
What is the theme of Day 1?
Each daily collection of stories takes a different tone or theme. Day 1 consists of a witty discussion of human vices. On Day 2, fortune triumphs over its human playthings, but it is trounced by human will on Day 3. Day 4 is marked by tragic love stories.
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Did Boccaccio borrow stories from myth?
It is generally acknowledged that Boccaccio borrowed many of the stories from folklore and myth, but the exquisite writing and sophisticated structure of the work make clear that its author was no mere anthologist. His prose influenced many Renaissance writers, and his tales themselves have been borrowed for centuries.
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How many tales are in the Decameron?
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio is a collection of novellas that tell 100 tales. The tales are told by a group of seven women and three men who have fled Florence to escape the bubonic plague, also known as The Black Death.
What does Boccaccio feel about women?
Particularly, he feels empathy for women who do not possess the freedom of speech or the liberty a man enjoys in society.
What is the topic of the first day of tales?
The topic for the first day of tales is open, assigned by Pampinea, but as it happens, six of the tales are about one person censuring another, and the other four are satirical tales about the Catholic Church. On the second day, Filomena chooses the topic of misadventures that end both suddenly and happily.
What is the tenth day of Panfilo?
On the tenth and final day, Panfilo is elected king . He chooses stories about deeds of munificence, or the quality of being generous. As the tenth-day tales are told, they feature greater and greater generosity.
What day does Lauretta tell the story of tricks?
He selects tales featuring wives who play tricks on their husbands. On the eighth day, Lauretta charges everyone to tell stories about tricks that women play on men—or tricks men play on women. It’s Emilia’s turn on the ninth day, and she chooses not to assign a theme.
Where does the title of the Decameron come from?
It also provides insight into the way people lived in the fourteenth century. The title of the work comes from the Greek for “Ten Days.”. The tales are told over the course of ten days in the villa. The Decameron has a subtitle, too— Prencipe Galeotto —which translates to Prince Galehaut, and refers to a fictional king.
Who is the decameron?
The Decameron has a subtitle, too— Prencipe Galeotto —which translates to Prince Galehaut, and refers to a fictional king. Before becoming a king, he was a knight in Arthurian legend; he is ambitious and craves the chance to rule over Arthur’s domain. He’s powerful and his followers are loyal.
What did the Florentines do in The Decameron?
Unlike most of us who are sheltering in place, the Florentines in The Decameron arrive with their servants and settled into an elegant house furnished with fine sheets and bouquets of flowers. That meant they had no need to figure out how to divide up chores, the likely stress point in many households now.
What does Boccaccio's story remind us of?
As Newman put it, Boccaccio’s stories remind us of “our basic (and sometimes base) human qualities and the not-always pretty sides of our humanity that cannot be avoided even when allegories and artifice prevail.”.
How many stories are there in the 1353 masterpiece?
Virtual books clubs are analyzing the 1353 masterpiece, consisting of a hundred stories told by three young men and seven women during their quarantine in a villa outside Florence. The critic Eric Banks has been running a five-week, $150-per-person Zoom reading group in conjunction with McNally Jackson Books.
How long did the Decameron story last?
By alternating power, no one would feel left out. As the unanimously elected queen for the first day, she suggests each person tell a story each day for 10 days —hence the 100 stories of The Decameron, which, from the Greek, means 10 days. When not telling stories, they would nap, walk, sing, and eat fabulous food.
What did the plague do to Europe?
In a set of slides, she showed pictures of cool things like the protective gear doctors wore in the 17th century, with masks that made them look like they had dressed up as birds. Although the plague killed as much as 60% of Europe’s population, she saw some upsides: It led to reforestation, because there weren’t enough peasants to farm the fields. And the ones who remained had more power, and could demand higher wages.
Who directed the Decameron movie?
A scene from the 1971 film, The Decameron, directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. Courtesy Everett Collection
Who was the storyteller in the 1300s?
One of the 10 storytellers, Dioneo, never wants to follow the rules and always insists he tell his story last.
What is the decameron?
The Decameron is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio, completed in 1353. The Decameron is structured with a frame story containing a hundred tales told by a group of ten young men and women sheltering in a villa just outside Florence to escape the Black Death, which had struck the city. 'Decameron' combines two Greek words, deka ('ten') and heméra ('day'), to form a term that means 'ten-day [event]'. The characters of the framing story tell their tales in a ten day period. Each of the ten storytellers is king or queen for an evening, during which time they can set the topic of the evening' tales, such as examples of human willpower, or love stories that end tragically. Only Dioneo, who usually tells the tenth tale each day, is, thanks to his wit, allowed to tell a tale on any topic he wants. Each day also has a short introduction and a conclusion to continue the framing device.
How long does it take for a framing story to be told?
The characters of the framing story tell their tales in a ten day period. Each of the ten storytellers is king or queen for an evening, during which time they can set the topic of the evening' tales, such as examples of human willpower, or love stories that end tragically.
Who usually tells the 10th tale?
Only Dioneo, who usually tells the tenth tale each day, is, thanks to his wit, allowed to tell a tale on any topic he wants. Each day also has a short introduction and a conclusion to continue the framing device.
What is Boccaccio's defense of his work?
Boccaccio begins this day with a defense of his work as it is thus far completed. Although he says that portions of the earlier days were circulating among the literate citizens of Tuscany while the work was in progress, this is doubtful. Instead, Boccaccio is probably just shooting down potential detractors. The reader must remember that vernacular fictional prose was not a respected genre in 14th century Italy and some of the criticisms Boccaccio combats in the introduction to the fourth day were common attitudes towards the genre. Others, however, were specific to the Decameron itself.
How many stories are in the Decameron?
This article contains summaries and commentaries of the 100 stories within Giovanni Boccaccio 's The Decameron .
What is Dante's influence on Boccaccio?
Dante's influence is everywhere seen in the Decameron, from its subtitle (a reference to Inferno, v) to its physical arrangement and careful attention to Medieval numerology. Also Boccaccio often tells tales about the lives of people whose souls Dante had met in his epic journey through the afterlife.
What was the name of the basilica in The Decameron?
The basilica of Santa Maria Novella, with a Renaissance façade that was completed about 100 years after The Decameron was written. Before beginning the story-telling sessions, the ten young Florentines, seven women and three men, referred to as the Brigata, gather at the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella and together decide to escape ...
What is the Tenth Day?
Tenth day. Panfilo is the king of the last day of storytelling and he orders the company to tell stories about deeds of munificence. These tales seem to escalate in their degrees of munificence until the end, where the day (and the entire Decameron) reaches an apex in the story of patient Griselda .
What is the theme of the fifth day of Fiammetta?
During the fifth day Fiammetta, whose name means small flame, sets the theme of tales where lovers pass through disasters before having their love end in good fortune.
Where did the story of the Decameron originate?
This is commonly referred to as the 101st story of the Decameron. The story originates in the Ramayana, a Sanskrit epic from the 4th century BCE.