Boccaccio`s "Decameron" – Rewriting the Christian Middle Ages and the Lyric Tradition

Dino S. Cervigni is professor emeritus of Romance languages and comparative literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Annali d’italianistica and is the author of numerous books, including Dante’s Poetry of Dreams.

• AcknowledgmentsNotes on Citations of the DecameronIntroduction1. The All-Encompassing Discourse: Topoi of the Poet, Women, and Critics2. The Brigata’s Overarching Tale: Rewriting the Christian Middle Ages3. The Decameron’s Ballads and Emilia’s Song: “I have such desire for my own beauty” (“Io son sì vaga della mia bellezza.” Dec. 1)4. Pampínea’s “What woman will sing if I myself do not?” (Qual donna canterà, s’i’non cant’io?” Dec. 2)5. Lauretta’s “No woman without consolation” (Niuna sconsolata.” Dec. 3)6. Filostrato’s Desperate Song: “Weeping, I show” (“Lagrimando dimostro.” Dec. 4)7. Dioneo in Love’s Chains: The Erotic Storyteller vs. the Pathetic Lover8. Love, War, and Servitude in Elissa’s (Dec. 6)9. Filomena’s Unhappy Love: “Ah, my wretched life!” (“Deh lassa la mia vita!” Dec. 7)10. Panfilo’s Erotic Song: “So great, O Love, is the good” (“Tanto è, Amore, il bene.” Dec. 8)11. Neifile’s Distant Beloved: “A young girl am I” (“Io mi son giovinetta.” Dec. 9)12. Making Amends and Behaving Magnificently: Dec. 10’s Secular Redemption13. Fiammetta’s Desperate Ballad (Dec. 10): Concluding All Lyric Singing14. The Decameron’s Precarious Centers, the Author’s Story, His Open-ended ConclusionAppendix: The Narrator as Moral Commentator: Humor, Humorous Tales, and Humorous StorytellersWorks Cited & BibliographyIndex of Important MattersIndex of Names