Decameron Fourth Day in Perspective

Michael Sherberg

University of Toronto Press, Nov 10, 2020 - Literary Criticism - 232 pages

This volume, part of the Lectura Boccacccii 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.

Contents

• Introduction: 3
• Love Latinity and Aging in the Introduction to Day Four: 10
• Senile Recidivism Incest and Egotism in Decameron IV1: 22
• Incarnation in Venice IV2: 45
• The Tale of the Three IllStarred Sisters IV3: 59
• Love Heroism and Masculinity in the Tale of Gerbino IV4: 73
• The Tale of Lisabetta da Messina IV5: 86
• The Dream of the Shadow IV6: 107
• Spinning Yarns in Decameron IV7: 124
• Girolamos Wicked Mother and the Setback of Reason in Taming Lovesickness IV8: 145
• How the vida of Guilhem de Cabestanh quasi tutta si disfece IV9: 157
• Happy Endings IV10: 181
• Bibliography: 197
• Contributors: 213
• Index: 217

About the author

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.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Decameron Fourth Day in Perspective; G - Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series; Toronto Italian Studies
• Editor: Michael Sherberg
• Publisher: University of Toronto Press, 2020
• ISBN: 148750747X, 9781487507473
• Length: 232 pages
• Subjects: Literary Criticism / European / Italian; Literary Criticism / Medieval