Other editions of book The Decameron

Written in the middle of the 14th century as the Bubonic Plague decimated the population of Europe, "The Decameron" is a satirically allegorical collection of stories by the Italian author Boccaccio. The refined frame narrative of this work allows for ten Florentine women and men to flee the city and take refuge in a country villa of Italy. In the ten days they are to stay, each of them is to tell a story a day, the themes of which are determined by the elected king or queen for that day. Most of the 100 tales are those of love, from erotic to tragic to rather surprising, portraying people of all social stations with a full spectrum of human reactions. More than the sum of its parts, "The Decameron" has inspired countless works of art, and later writers, such as Chaucer, have been influenced by his tales of fate, desire, crisis, and adventure. A milestone in the history of European literature, this imaginative narrative is an enduring masterpiece.

The Decameron (c.1351) was written in the wake of the Black Death, a shattering epidemic which had shaken Florence's confident entrepreneurial society to its core.In a country villa outside the city, ten young noble men and women who have escaped the plague decide to tell each other stories. Boccaccio's skill as a dramatist is masterfully displayed in this virtuoso performance of one hundred tales, vivid portraits of people from all stations in life, with plots which revel in a bewildering variety of human reactions. Themes are playfully restated from one story to another within an elegant and refined framework. One of Chaucer's most fruitful sources for the Canterbury Tales, Boccaccio's work artfully combines the essential ingredients of narrative: fate and desire, crises and quick-thinking.This new translation by Guido Waldman captures the exuberance and variety and tone of Boccaccio's masterpiece.About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

The Decameron is a remarkable work of Renaissance literature, comprised of one hundred short novels in ten books. This superb edition contains every story in English, and is unabridged. The Decameron marked the emergence of new literature after centuries of relative quiet, as the Italian Renaissance got underway. At the time of composing the text, Boccaccio was already well-versed in many ancient myths and legends, together with folk stories which had long been part of the oral tradition in Europe. First published around 1353, this text was conceived as a single long narrative set within a country house. This frame story sees ten people - seven women and three men - sheltering from the epidemic of the Black Death: a pandemic disease which at the time was ravaging Europe. To pass the time and forget about the grim and deathly realities of the plague, they take turns to tell one another stories. The compendium Boccaccio put together is one of formidable and impressive variation. Divided into ten books, which are in turn divided into ten short novels each, we hear tales of erotic romance; of calamitous tragedy; of chivalric valiance; of raucous comedy filled with witty asides and jokes; and morality tales which teach memorable lessons on living. Together with its literary value as an undoubted masterpiece of the early Renaissance in Italy, The Decameron includes many details of everyday life and customs in the 14th century. Its wording reflects the variety of slang and expressions spoken by Italian people of the era. Given that it was composed in a time of great superstition, there have been various numerological and mystical interpretations of the Decameron's text. This edition is complete, with no omissions or abridgement of the text. It includes the Epilogue written by Boccaccio, and a full table of contents for ease of reference. The English text is derived from the authoritative translation of 1886 by John Payne which has itself been praised for its faith to the original Florentine dialect in which Boccaccio wrote The Decameron.

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As often, most gracious ladies, as, taking thought in myself, I mind me how very pitiful you are all by nature, so often do I recognize that this present work will, to your thinking, have a grievous and a weariful beginning, inasmuch as the dolorous remembrance of the late pestiferous mortality, which it beareth on its forefront, is universally irksome to all who saw or otherwise knew it. But I would not therefore have this affright you from reading further, as if in the reading you were still to fare among sighs and tears.