The Decameron 1 How does the preface introduce us to the work that follows? What is the tone of the authorial voice? Who does he claim as his audience? Do we trust this claim? Consider this section in terms of its content and rhetorical strategies. 2. What is the function of the second narrative frame? What is the relationship between the plague described in that section and the stories told by the narrators? Why frame the Decameron in this way? How does this representation of plague compare with others we've encountered in our readings? 3. Consider the effect of framing more broadly. Why frame a tale within a tale? What is the effect of this distancing? Why is one tale juxtaposed with another. You can pick a pair or series of tales and think about the significance of their placement. 4. Boccaccio is influenced by and responding to the work of Dante. Compare Boccaccio's treatment of religious faith to Dante's. In what ways are their value systems different? In what way is Boccaccio borrowing from the form and content of the Inferno? You may want to focus on one or two specific tales. 5. Boccaccio writes explicitly about sex and desire. What is the effect of this narrative candor? What is its relationship to gender? In other words, what do you make of Boccaccio's treatment of female desire. Does it vary from one tale to another, or do all seem to make one large point. 6. Conversely, what is Boccaccio's attitude towards chastity and honor? How do these representations compare with others we've encountered? If chastity is not a primary value, what other values replace it? 7. What is the role of disguise or concealed identity in these tales? Why are there so many tales in which characters hide their identities? 8. What class position do the narrators occupy? How is class thematized in the narrative frame? How are these ideas about class carried over into the tales themselves? What is the narrator's attitude towards aristocracy, and what is its relationship to peasantry or serving classes? 9. Pick one important episode and analyze it in detail, commenting on its significance to the work as a whole. 10. Pose your own question and answer it. Include the question at the top