The English Boccaccio


Book Description

The Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio has had a long and colourful history in English translation. This new interdisciplinary study presents the first exploration of the reception of Boccaccio’s writings in English literary culture, tracing his presence from the early fifteenth century to the 1930s. Guyda Armstrong tells this story through a wide-ranging journey through time and space – from the medieval reading communities of Naples and Avignon to the English court of Henry VIII, from the censorship of the Decameron to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, from the world of fine-press printing to the clandestine pornographers of 1920s New York, and much more. Drawing on the disciplines of book history, translation studies, comparative literature, and visual studies, the author focuses on the book as an object, examining how specific copies of manuscripts and printed books were presented to an English readership by a variety of translators. Armstrong is thereby able to reveal how the medieval text in translation is remade and re-authorized for every new generation of readers.




The Decameron


Book Description

In the time of a devastating pandemic, seven women and three men withdraw to a country estate outside Florence to give themselves a diversion from the death around them. Once there, they decide to spend some time each day telling stories, each of the ten to tell one story each day. They do this for ten days, with a few other days of rest in between, resulting in the 100 stories of the Decameron. The Decameron was written after the Black Plague spread through Italy in 1348. Most of the tales did not originate with Boccaccio; some of them were centuries old already in his time, but Boccaccio imbued them all with his distinctive style. The stories run the gamut from tragedy to comedy, from lewd to inspiring, and sometimes all of those at once. They also provide a detailed picture of daily life in fourteenth-century Italy.




Famous Women


Book Description

Giovanni Boccaccio devoted the last decades of his life to compiling encyclopedic works in Latin. Among them is this text, the first collection of biographies in Western literature devoted to women.




The Decameron: The Original English Translation by John Florio


Book Description

In 'The Decameron: The Original English Translation by John Florio,' Giovanni Boccaccio presents a collection of one hundred novellas told by ten young people who have fled Florence to escape the Black Death. The tales cover a wide range of themes, including love, wit, tragedy, and clever deception, making it a rich tapestry of human experiences. Boccaccio's prose is marked by its vivid imagery, social commentary, and sophisticated storytelling, reflecting the humanistic values of his time. The Decameron is a landmark work in Italian literature, considered one of the earliest examples of realistic prose fiction. John Florio's translation captures the essence of Boccaccio's original work, preserving its subtle nuances and literary quality. Florio's skillful rendering makes this classic accessible to English-speaking readers, maintaining the beauty and charm of the original Italian text. Giovanni Boccaccio, a Renaissance humanist and poet, drew on his own experiences and observations of society to craft these timeless tales. His adept storytelling and keen insight into human nature continue to resonate with readers centuries later. I highly recommend 'The Decameron' to anyone interested in exploring the complexities of human behavior, love, and resilience in the face of adversity. Boccaccio's masterpiece is a captivating read that offers valuable insights into the human condition and the enduring power of storytelling.




Life of Dante


Book Description

"e;Life of Dante"e; brings together the earliest accounts of Dante available, putting the celebratory essay of literary genius Giovanni Boccaccio together with the historical analysis of leading humanist Leonardo Bruni. Their writings, along with the other sources included in this volume, provide a wealth of insight and information into Dante's unique character and life, from his susceptibility to the torments of passionate love, his involvement in politics, scholastic enthusiasms and military experience, to the stories behind the greatest heights of his poetic achievements.Not only are these accounts invaluable for their subject matter, they are also seminal examples of early biographical writing. Also included in this volume is a biography of Boccaccio, perhaps as great an influence on world literature as Dante himself.




The Decameron and Collected Works of Giovanni Boccaccio (Illustrated)


Book Description

The poet and scholar Giovanni Boccaccio was a leading writer of the Italian Renaissance, now best remembered as the author of the famous compendium of tales ‘The Decameron’. Boccaccio helped lay the foundations for the humanism of the Renaissance, while raising vernacular literature to the status of the classics of antiquity. Noted for their realistic dialogue and imaginative use of character and plot, Boccaccio’s works went on to inspire Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare and countless other writers in the ensuing centuries. This comprehensive eBook presents Boccaccio’s collected works, with numerous illustrations, rare translations appearing in digital print for the first time, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Boccaccio’s life and works * Concise introductions to the novels and other texts * Multiple translations of ‘The Decameron’, including the first English translation by John Florio, 1620 * John Payne's complete translation, with all the hyperlinked footnotes - ideal for students * The original Italian text of ‘The Decameron’ * Rare translations of two novels, with individual contents tables * Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts * Excellent formatting of the texts * The rare long poem ‘Il Filostrato’, available in no other collection * The key works of Chaucer and Shakespeare that were inspired by Boccaccio * Includes a translation of Boccaccio’s ‘De Mulieribus Claris’, first time in digital print * Features two biographies - discover Boccaccio’s intriguing life * Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles CONTENTS: The Decameron The Decameron: John Florio, 1620 The Decameron: John Payne, 1886 The Decameron: J. M. Rigg, 1903 The Decameron: Original Italian Text The Novels The Filocolo (Translated by H. G., London, 1566) The Elegy of Lady Fiammetta (Translated by Bartholomew Young, 1587) The Verse ‘The Knight’s Tale’ and ‘The Two Noble Kinsmen’ (Teseida) Il Filostrato (Translated by Hubertis Cummings) The Non-Fiction De Mulieribus Claris (Partially translated by Henry Parker, Lord Morely) The Life of Dante (Translated by James Robinson Smith) The Biographies Giovanni Boccaccio: A Biographical Study by Edward Hutton Giovanni Boccaccio by Francis Hueffer Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles or to purchase this eBook as a Parts Edition of individual eBooks




The Decameron


Book Description

Winner of the 2014 PEN USA Literary Award for Translation This Norton Critical Edition includes: - Fifty-five judiciously chosen stories from Wayne A. Rebhorn's translation of The Decameron. - Introductory materials and explanatory footnotes by Wayne A. Rebhorn, along with three maps. - Biographical works by Filippo Villani and Ludovico Dolce along with literary studies by Francesco Petrarca, Andreas Capellanus, and Boccaccio. - Eleven critical essays, including those by Giuseppe Mazzotta, Millicent Marcus, Teodolinda Barolini, Susanne L. Wofford, Luciano Rossi, and Richard Kuhns. - A Chronology and a Selected Bibliography.




The English Boccaccio


Book Description

"The Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio has had a long and colourful history in English translation. This new interdisciplinary study presents the first exploration of the reception of Boccaccio's writings in English literary culture, tracing his presence from the early fifteenth century to the 1930s. Guyda Armstrong tells this story through a wide-ranging journey through time and space -- from the medieval reading communities of Naples and Avignon to the English court of Henry VIII, from the censorship of the Decameron to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, from the world of fine-press printing to the clandestine pornographers of 1920s New York, and much more. Drawing on the disciplines of book history, translation studies, comparative literature, and visual studies, the author focuses on the book as an object, examining how specific copies of manuscripts and printed books were presented to an English readership by a variety of translators. Armstrong is thereby able to reveal how the medieval text in translation is remade and re-authorized for every new generation of readers." -- Publisher's description.




Boccaccio and the Invention of Italian Literature


Book Description

Giovanni Boccaccio played a pivotal role in the extraordinary emergence of the Italian literary tradition in the fourteenth century, not only as author of the Decameron, but also as scribe of Dante, Petrarch and Cavalcanti. Using a single codex written entirely in Boccaccio's hand, Martin Eisner brings together material philology and literary history to reveal the multiple ways Boccaccio authorizes this vernacular literary tradition. Each chapter offers a novel interpretation of Boccaccio as a biographer, storyteller, editor and scribe, who constructs arguments, composes narratives, compiles texts and manipulates material forms to legitimize and advance a vernacular literary canon. Situating these philological activities in the context of Boccaccio's broader reflections on poetry in the Decameron and the Genealogy of the Gentile Gods, the book produces a new portrait of Boccaccio that integrates his vernacular and Latin works, while also providing a new context for understanding his fictions.




Petrarch and Boccaccio


Book Description

Die Buchreihe Mimesis präsentiert unter ihrem neuen Untertitel Romanische Literaturen der Welt ein innovatives und integrales Verständnis der Romania wie der Romanistik aus literaturwissenschaftlicher und kulturtheoretischer Perspektive. Sie trägt der Tatsache Rechnung, dass die faszinierende Entwicklung der romanischen Literaturen und Kulturen in Europa wie außerhalb Europas neue weltweite Dynamiken in Gang gesetzt hat, welche die großen Traditionen der Romania fortschreiben und auf neue Horizonte hin öffnen. In Mimesis kommt ein transareales, die europäische und die außereuropäische Welt romanischer Literaturen und Kulturen zusammendenkendes Verständnis der Romanistik zur Geltung, das über nationale wie disziplinäre Grenzziehungen hinweg die oft übersehenen Wechselwirkungen zwischen unterschiedlichen Traditions- und Entwicklungslinien in Europa und den Amerikas, in Afrika und Asien entfaltet. Im Archipel der Romanistik zeigt Mimesis auf, wie die dargestellte Wirklichkeit in den romanischen Literaturen der Welt die Tür zu einem vielsprachigen Kosmos verschiedenartiger Logiken öffnet.