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Decameron And The Black Death

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Set in Florence during the Black Death (late 1340’s), Decameron started Giovanni Boccaccio’s.. reputation as a writer. The story revolves around ten young Florentines who escape the plague by leaving the city for the clean country air. However, time seems to go by slowly when nothing is happening. So, to pass the time they agree to each tell one story every day. And each day one person is chosen to decide the topic for the day’s set of tales. This brings in multiple genres of stories, ranging from romantic tales of true love to adventures and trickery. Incidentally, at the time Boccaccio begins to write the Decameron the Black Death is coming to an end in Europe. In fact, much like the characters of his story, many left the dirtiest of cities, during the plague, for clean country air in an attempt to escape the epidemic. These escapees left behind them the crowded, filthy streets where disease was easily contracted for clean, spacious countryside. However, the plague infected the animals as well, meaning as people moved with their livestock, the plague did too. But for those who chose to stay in the cities, avoiding the disease meant avoiding people. Many shops closed down and some priests even refused to give people their last rites. Another interesting fact about Boccaccio’s book is that men and women are both portrayed as intelligent, attractive and articulate. However, the major difference in his portrayal of each gender, is that the stories seem to favor females.

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