Characteristicism And Realism In The Decameron By Giovanni Boccaccio

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The Italian Icon
Giovanni Boccaccio, an author who illustrates his works realistically, “He paints the world as the world, the flesh as flesh, nature as nature, without suggesting a question” (Symonds). To begin with, as Boccaccio grew as a person and writer, he merely focused on realism. At a young age, Boccaccio was forced to work with his father as a merchant. With the long hours of treacherous trading, little to no income, and realization that life is better somewhere else, Boccaccio had a difficult beginning. Thereafter, he quickly realized that his passion was writing. Leaving Florence young, he traveled to Naples to pursue in his writing career. Boccaccio began writing works to voice the struggles of life and he creates the most realistic
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In fact, The Decameron was one of the first literary works written to show the musical movement, which initiated Boccaccio to become a known and popular author. According to Marco Cerocchi, “Boccaccio provides the reader with a view of music’s properties and rightful place in society, which is highly divergent from that expounded by Dante Alighieri just a half century before.” Futhermore, in Boccaccio’s era, he is recognized as one of the first writers to express and illustrate music for more than a religious art. For instance, in The Decameron, he emphasizes the music’s ability, producing a deep effect on the reader. Therefore, Boccaccio created his realistic and intriguing works. With this ability, Boccaccio managed to reestablish the balance in peoples’ lives with permitting the reader to have a sense of relief. Boccaccio is demonstrating to the reader, that the Ars Nova movement was important, showing music itself has much value (Cerocchi). Communicating the new development in music caused readers to understand Boccaccio’s life and his works. In short, Boccaccio’s life was in the midst of the Ars Nova music program, shifting his creativity towards constructing realistic refined …show more content…
Boccaccio illustrates a universal medieval woman within his works, in which his love is shown (Hardy). In fact, within Boccaccio’s The Decameron, he describes, “Within their soft bosoms, betwixt fear and shame, they harbor secret fire of love” (qtd. in “Boccaccio’s Attitude Towards Women”). Afterall, Boccaccio’s description of women is very clear, and he expresses all women’s voices and thoughts thoroughly. Particularly in The Decameron, Boccaccio illustrates ten main characters, of which seventy percent are female (Bergin). Hence, with more women in his text, Boccaccio shows his admiration towards the female gender and his push towards the voice of women to be heard. Although very few beautiful women are located in Boccaccio’s text and the irony is depicted, Boccaccio articulates his love for women in another sense (Hardy). With the nonexistent voice of women, Boccaccio knew he had to pursue the rightful laws and voice for women through society. Thus, Boccaccio became inspired by the missing female voice of society, and he created many literary works, including The Decameron. The Decameron is proven to be the first literary piece to defend and accept the female gender. Naturally, making Boccaccio as the first male author to speak and preserve women in society. Altogether, the missing voice of women inspired Boccaccio to speak for women and their rights, through his

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