Overview

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.

Full Product Details

Author:   Michael Sherberg
Publisher:   University of Toronto Press
Imprint:   University of Toronto Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.70cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.460kg
ISBN:  

9781487507473

ISBN 10:   148750747
Pages:   232
Publication Date:   10 November 2020
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable  
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Table of Contents

Preface Introduction Michael Sherberg Love, Latinity, and Aging in the Introduction to the Fourth Day Timothy Kircher The Stories A questa tanto picciola vigilia de' vostri sensi : Senile Recidivism, Incest, and Egotism in Decameron IV.1 Tobias Foster Gittes Incarnation in Venice (IV.2) Alison Cornish The Tale of the Three Ill-Starred Sisters (IV.3) Michael Papio Love, Heroism, and Masculinity in the Tale of Gerbino (IV.4) Gur Zak Ur Zak The Tale of Lisabetta da Messina (IV.5) Kristina M. Olson The Dream of the Shadow (IV.6) F. Regina Psaki Spinning Yarns in Decameron IV.7 Suzanne Magnanini Girolamo's Wicked Mother and the Setback of Reason in Taming Love-Sickness (IV.8) Annelise Brody How the vida of Guilhem de Cabestanh quasi tutta si disfece (IV.9) Julie Singer Happy Endings (IV.10) Fabian Alfie Bibliography Contributors Index

Reviews

""In each of these eleven essays, the contributors offer significant innovations and are mindful to integrate the latest scholarly perspectives in their analysis. Traditional readings have […] been enriched and modernized, with special attention paid to questions of gender and the relation between spaces and plots, making this volume an innovative and essential tool for the study of the fourth day of the Decameron."" -- Nicola Esposito, PhD Candidate, University of Notre Dame * <em>Annali d’italianistica</em> * “Reading the book is absolutely recommended for scholars, college students, and all avid readers of the Decameron.” -- Teresa Nocita, Università degli Studi dell’Aquila * <em>Speculum</em> *

""In each of these eleven essays, the contributors offer significant innovations and are mindful to integrate the latest scholarly perspectives in their analysis. Traditional readings have […] been enriched and modernized, with special attention paid to questions of gender and the relation between spaces and plots, making this volume an innovative and essential tool for the study of the fourth day of the Decameron."" -- Nicola Esposito, PhD Candidate, University of Notre Dame * <em>Annali d’italianistica</em> *

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 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

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.

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