Religion and Sexual Humor
Religion and Sexual Humor
The Decameron by Boccaccio was written to be appealing to both social classes, the lower and the higher. It was very successful considering that it was written about religion and sex. With it being focused around the two subjects, Boccaccio was able to reach out to both social classes easily. Boccaccio’s humor in religion and sex can be seen throughout his stories. More specifically, it is shown in the introduction, the story Ciapelletto, and the monk and abbot story.
In the introduction of Boccaccio’s The Decameron, Boccaccio describes the town with the plague. As Falvo’s main idea states, Boccaccio’s ideals of beauty, perfection, and decorum are set against the harsh and bitter reality of the plague. The description used of the plague gives the story a very dark setting. It is unknown why he would start the beginning of the story out with a plague other than to bring the seven people together to talk about their stories. According to “Boccaccio 's Decameron and the Ciceronian Renaissance” written by, Michaela Paasche Grudin and Robert Grudin, “Boccaccio was among the founders of the Renaissance,” they also said he was a humanist and sometimes “accredited to as the founder of Humanism.” While Boccaccio was never married, he was a father of three children. Grudin’s state, “Disappointing love affairs and deteriorating health made Giovanni depressive and his writing started showing signs of bitterness especially towards women.” There is talk that his Decameron stories are for the women who have not been married yet or have not fell in love. Personally, the plague start is depressing, hints to the woman who have not loved yet; it sets the tone as a depressing yet loving and hoping story, “Dark Humor”.
Catholicism was the main religion so it made it easy for Boccaccio to use religious satire and humor in his stories. In the story of Saint Ciapelletto, Boccaccio’s first story drew its humor from a religious criticism, “the issue with lying
The Decameron by Boccaccio was written to be appealing to both social classes, the lower and the higher. It was very successful considering that it was written about religion and sex. With it being focused around the two subjects, Boccaccio was able to reach out to both social classes easily. Boccaccio’s humor in religion and sex can be seen throughout his stories. More specifically, it is shown in the introduction, the story Ciapelletto, and the monk and abbot story.
In the introduction of Boccaccio’s The Decameron, Boccaccio describes the town with the plague. As Falvo’s main idea states, Boccaccio’s ideals of beauty, perfection, and decorum are set against the harsh and bitter reality of the plague. The description used of the plague gives the story a very dark setting. It is unknown why he would start the beginning of the story out with a plague other than to bring the seven people together to talk about their stories. According to “Boccaccio 's Decameron and the Ciceronian Renaissance” written by, Michaela Paasche Grudin and Robert Grudin, “Boccaccio was among the founders of the Renaissance,” they also said he was a humanist and sometimes “accredited to as the founder of Humanism.” While Boccaccio was never married, he was a father of three children. Grudin’s state, “Disappointing love affairs and deteriorating health made Giovanni depressive and his writing started showing signs of bitterness especially towards women.” There is talk that his Decameron stories are for the women who have not been married yet or have not fell in love. Personally, the plague start is depressing, hints to the woman who have not loved yet; it sets the tone as a depressing yet loving and hoping story, “Dark Humor”.
Catholicism was the main religion so it made it easy for Boccaccio to use religious satire and humor in his stories. In the story of Saint Ciapelletto, Boccaccio’s first story drew its humor from a religious criticism, “the issue with lying
Bibliography: Web. 17 Mar. 2013. Mazzotta, Giuseppe. “The World at Play in Boccaccio 's Decameron.” Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 47, No. 3 (Autumn, 1994), pp. 653-656. JSTOR. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.