The Decameron Fourth Day in Perspective
© 2020
This volume, part of the Lectura Boccaccii series organized by the American Boccaccio Association, offers close readings by top scholars of Day Four of the Decameron. As fans of the Decameron know, the Fourth Day opens with an important intervention in which the author defends his project against his critics, which coincides with a significant change in tone as the subject matter turns to stories with unhappy endings. The contributors approach the stories from a variety of perspectives, including the linguistic, philosophical, anthropological, and literary historical. These fresh readings of stories that are nearly seven hundred years old testify to the enduring power of Boccaccio’s masterpiece to speak to new audiences and to find compelling relevance even at a great distance from its immediate medieval context.
Product Details
- Series: Toronto Italian Studies
- World Rights
- Page Count: 232 pages
- Dimensions: 6.2in x 1.0in x 9.2in
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Reviews
"The approach of focalizing on one Day is particularly interesting, as it provides a very specialized and in-depth interpretation of a detailed part of Boccaccio’s masterpiece, which centers on the theme of unhappy love. The volume is specific yet always refers to the big picture, including The Decameron as a whole but also the time period and references to other authors."
Valerio Cappozzo, Department of Modern Languages, University of Mississippi"Providing fresh interpretations, this volume is a major contribution to research on Boccaccio’s most widely-read text: the essays included here are written and edited by established authorities, each of which offers new readings on Day IV. This volume will be particularly desirable beyond medieval and early modern Italian studies, as alongside literary questions, the volume touches on aspects such as medieval law, ethics and religion, sociological and gender studies."
Rhiannon Daniels, Department of Italian, University of Bristol -
Author Information
Michael Sherberg is a former president of the American Boccaccio Association, and erstwhile chair of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures at Washington University. -
Table of contents
Preface
Introduction
Michael SherbergLove, Latinity, and Aging in the Introduction to the Fourth Day
Timothy KircherThe Stories
“A questa tanto picciola vigilia de’ vostri sensi”: Senile Recidivism, Incest, and Egotism in Decameron IV.1
Tobias Foster GittesIncarnation in Venice (IV.2)
Alison CornishThe Tale of the Three Ill-Starred Sisters (IV.3)
Michael PapioLove, Heroism, and Masculinity in the Tale of Gerbino (IV.4)
Gur Zak Ur ZakThe Tale of Lisabetta da Messina (IV.5)
Kristina M. OlsonThe Dream of the Shadow (IV.6)
F. Regina PsakiSpinning Yarns in Decameron IV.7
Suzanne MagnaniniGirolamo's Wicked Mother and the Setback of Reason in Taming Love-Sickness (IV.8)
Annelise BrodyHow the vida of Guilhem de Cabestanh “quasi tutta si disfece” (IV.9)
Julie SingerHappy Endings (IV.10)
Fabian AlfieBibliography
Contributors
Index
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Subjects and Courses
