Ch 11: 14th Century: A Time of Transition (2)

An Introduction to Boccaccio's Decameron

 

l        Read the Preface (Proem) and the frame story  (The Introduction in Day 1) of Decameron　
卜伽丘《十日談》 
十日談(上) 
十日談(中) 
十日談(下)

l       The Structure of Decameron

Frame story + 100 stories told by 10 young people within 10 days (10 X 10 = 100) + Conclusion

The ten narrators:

Female: Pampinea, Filomena, Neifile, Fiammetta, Emilia, Lauretta, Elissa

Male: Panfilo, Filostrato, Dioneo

Author's Preface and Introduction: The author addresses the implied reader directly, tell them the origins of these 100 novellas, introduces the ten narrators, and describes in realistic details the Black Death of 1348 in Florence. To flee from the threat of the plague, seven girls and three young men went out of the city to a country house with beautiful garden and stayed there for 10 days. They entertained themselves by telling story. Each of the ten storytellers will tell a story on each of the ten days. Each storyteller (except Dioneo) must tell a story which follows a topic determined by the king or queen of the previous day.

  1. Subjects freely chosen (the reign of Pampinea).
  2. Stories about those who attain a state of unexpected happiness after a period of misfortune (the reign of Filomena).
  3. Stories about people who have attain difficult goals or who have recovered something previously lost (the reign of Filomena).
  4. Prologue: The narrator defends himself from the criticism that greeted the stories of the first three days. Love stories with unhappy ending (the reign of Filostrato).
  5. Love stories which end happily after a period of misfortune (the reign of Fiammettta).
  6. Stories about how intelligence helps to avoid danger, ridicule, or discomfort (the reign of Elissa).
  7. Stories bout tricks played by wives on their husbands (the reign of Dioneo).
  8. Stories about tricks played by both men and women on each other (the reign of Lauretta).
  9. Subjects freely chosen (the reign of Emilia).
  10. Stories about those who have performed generous deeds and who have acquired fame in so doing (the reign of Panfilo).

Author's Conclusion: The author defends the tone of his work against those critics who regard it as obscene, and against those who accuse him as slandering churchmen.

l          The function of the frame story

Frame and the Illusion of Reality:

The use of frame can be found early in the pediment (山牆), metope (排檔間飾), and frieze (中楣) of Greek temple, which is a form to organize decorative sculpture on the architecture. Not until the 14th century did the artist consciously use "frame" as a way to create a sense of reality. Such use of frame is frequent in the 14th century literature, painting, and architecture.

In the painting of the 14th century, such as Duccio's The Annunciation of the Death of the Virgin [fig.11.7,  c. 1308-1311], Giotto's Madanna Enthroned [fig. 11.8,   c. 1310] and The Meeting of Joachim and Anna [fig.11.9, c. 1305], we can the architecture in the painting corresponds to the picture frame. The two kinds of frame--the external picture frame and the internal architectural frame--help to define the realistic space and time of the figure by creating the illusion of depth and enhancing the shaping of volume and weight of the figures. If you compare Duccio and Giotto with Cimabue [fig. 11.4, 11.5], you can recognize the difference use of frame. The illusionist use of the frame is more artistically mastered in the Renaissance. And it becomes one of the characteristics of the Renaissance style.

In Dante's Divine Comedy, Boccacio's Decameron, and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the use of frame story not only creates an illusion of a realistic narration, but unifies the collection of stories under an overarching theme and social-political background. The realistic depiction of the personality, profession, and thought of the narrators and the correspondent or ironic language style of the narrators' stories help the reader to have a picture of the development of the theme.

The significance of the frame story in Decameron

  1. The major characteristic of realism in literature is the critical reference to the social status quo. The social reference may call the reader's sympathy with similar experience, or their awareness of social corruption and human defect. The Black Death in 1348 for the 14th century people, like the two World Wars for the 20th century people, is the decisive event which change the European world view.
  2. From a Christian perspective, the Plaque in Decameron, recalls God's punishments to the disloyal and philistine recorded in the Bible. Eg. The flood, the ten plagues in Egypt, the destruction of the Tower of Babel. The religious undertone of Decameron, is a kind of "Last Judgment" to the humanity, religion, society, and politic situations of Boccaccio's contemporary people.
  3. Compared with Dante's Divine Comedy, Boccaccio’s perspective is multiple and diverse with possible contradictions and debates among the ten narrators. Boccaccio’s "100" is more multiple (though may not be more philosophical) than Dante's "100."
  4. The literary heritage of the frame story is from the Arabian--The Arabian Nights (One Thousand and One Nights). Collection of various story forms--fable, legend, adventure, history, etc..
  5. The frame stories without and within the 100 stories justify the language and discourse of the stories, hence, create unity and expectation for the readers.

The love stories in Decameron

Examples:

4th Day, 1st Story: Tragic story----> against feudalism

Tancrecredi

Ghismunda (T's daughter) was marred to Prince of Salveno,

Got together with Guiscardo in the underground, committed suicide

Guiscardo (T's velvet) killed by T ------------------------buried together with Ghismunda.

4th Day, 2nd Story (about Brother Alberto): Comic story ----> ridicule religious decadence

Pretending to be Archangel Gabriel

Berto della Massa became Brother Alberto ---------> Madonna Lisetta

Was smeared with honey and feather

5th Day, 9th Story (about Federigo and his falcon): Chivalry romance ----> sustain the feudal system

G's son

Federigo -------------> Monna Giovanna (a rich widow)

F's falcon

The inter-course between man and woman in these stories symbolizes the trespass or transgression of social status or religious codes.

If social class and religious rules are two representative form of restriction en-coded by society, then love may function as a chance for de-coding and re-coding the submissive humanity.

Compare with Camina Burna  

Latest update: 2004/04/24