CRITICISM

Almansi, Guido. Writer as Liar: The Narrative Technique in the “Decameron.” London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1975, 166 p.

Focuses on the narrative techniques employed by Boccaccio, including essays on various critical interpretations and synopses of each novella.

Bergin, Thomas G. The “Decameron.” In Boccaccio, pp. 286-336. New York: The Viking Press, 1981.

Provides an explicatory synopsis of the Decameron.

Cole, Howard C. “Dramatic Interplay in the Decameron.” In The “All's Well” Story from Boccaccio to Shakespeare, pp. 12–32. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1981.

Focusing on the tale of Giletta di Nerbona, Cole argues that the individual tales of the Decameron gain complexity when read int the context of other tales and framing conversation surrounding them.

Cottino-Jones, Marga. Introduction to Order from Chaos: Social and Aesthetic Harmonies in Boccaccio's “Decameron.,” pp. 1–19. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, 1982.

Contends that Boccaccio designed the narrative structure of the Decameron with a view to influencing the patterns of social relationships in contemporary Florence, and that the narrative structure of the text and its characters reflect this concern.

Deligiorgis, Stavros. Narrative Intellection in the “Decameron.” Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1993, 233 p.

Detailed critical analysis of the tales in the Decameron.

Forni, Pier M. Adventures in Speech: Rhetoric and Narration in Boccaccio's “Decameron.” Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 155 p.

Critical analyses of the various stories contained in the Decameron.

Hollander, Robert. Boccaccio's Dante and the Shaping Force of Satire. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1997, 225 p.

Collection of essays exploring Dante's influence on Boccaccio and the Decameron.

Marcus, Millicent Joy. An Allegory of Form: Literary Self-Consciousness in the “Decameron.” Saratoga: Anma Libri, 1970 136 p.

Detailed study of literary technique in the Decameron.

Noakes, Susan. “From Dante to Boccaccio: Blurring the Margin.” In Timely Reading: between Exegesis and Interpretation, pp. 68-97. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1988.

Studies ways of reading and how Dante and Boccaccio present exegeses in their texts.

Potter, Joy Hambuechen. “God, Church, and Society in the Decameron.” In Five Frames for the “Decameron”: Communication and Social Systems in the “Cornice,” pp. 41-67. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1982.

Examines the function of narrative framing devices in the Decameron.

Additional coverage of Boccaccio's's life and career is contained in the following sources published by the Gale Group: European Writers, Vol. 2; Reference Guide to Short Fiction, Ed. 2; Reference Guide to World Literature, Eds. 2, 3; Short Story Criticism, Vol. 10; and Twayne's World Authors.