Discussion Questions: Decameron

1.  What reasons does Boccacio offer for having written the Decameron? As the song goes, “what does love got to do with it?”  Why does he write the work for women?  What are the limitations imposed on women in his society?

 

2. Boccaccio powerfully details bodily experiences in sickness, in death, and in pleasure. What kinds of effects are created through these kinds descriptions?  What is he implying about religious and social values, customs, and traditions during this horrendous time of the Black Plague? 

 

3. Describe the young women and men who have left the city.  Why have they left? What do they seem to value?  What are their attitudes toward the plague? Why do the protagonists choose to pass the time telling stories rather than playing games? How does Boccaccio distinguish between the urban and the countryside settings? Is there any significance to this distinction? Why do the protagonists flee to the countryside? In what ways does the mood of this account of the city differ from that of the country retreat where the young people have gone to escape the plague. Why this contrast?


4. What specific issues are addressed by Boccaccio in the story of Ser Cepperello (Day 1 Novel I)? Who or what is the target of the tale's critique? What are the implications of a scoundrel coming to be regarded as a saint? What problems does such a situation point to? For example, one of the common targets of the tale is the hypocrisy of religious and moral authorities; superstitions and the gullibility of people are also often ridiculed how is this demonstrated in the first story?