Ten Days' Talk (Illustrated Edition)

Author: Giovanni Boccaccio
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-03-01
Features: "The Decameron" features a tight narrative structure, concise prose, and humorous language, with exceptional skill in psychological portrayal and character development. It laid the foundation for Italian art prose and pioneered the artistic form of the European short story. The stories in "The Decameron" draw from a wide range of sources, including historical events, medieval legends, Eastern folk tales (especially those from Arabia, India, and China, such as One Thousand and One Nights, The Book of the Seven Sages, The Travels of Marco Polo, etc.), anecdotes, and popular gossip. It blends the characteristics of classical literature and folk literature. The one hundred stories in "The Decameron" portray a vast array of characters, from kings and nobles, knights and monks, to beggars and laborers, commoners, and people from all walks of life and trades. Characters from different social strata and professions all exhibit distinct personalities. Boccaccio can be said to be the master who used realist techniques to depict such a broad and vivid picture of life in European literary history.