In Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron, each day is foucused around a theme, which the members of the lieta brigata seek to incorporate into that day’s stories (with the exception of Dioneo). For the sixth day, the theme is decided to be people who employ a witticism to escape punishment or discomfort. To convey this message, many of the tales employ the usage of a bon mot, or a brief, humorous phrase. Throughout this day, unsightly persons, frequently employ the bon mot, which contrasts their wit with their less than desirable appearances. In addition to this, people of inferior rank are often shown to be more intelligent, and make better use of the bon mot than their masters, or other noble persons. All of these uses of wit go to show to the power of words, which is a recurring theme throughout the Decameron. In the sixth day of Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron, the lieta brigata tells stories wherein the characters escape humiliation or pain by means of a witticism. This theme is summed up in the use of the bon mot and people of less than desirable appearance, and of a lower class often uses the use of this device; all of these things go to show the power of words.
This power of words is most often shown in the sixth day through the use of the bon mot. A bon mot (literally French for “good word”) is a witticism used at the right moment, which often provides a humorous comment to the goings-on in a story. The sixth day of the Decameron specifically focuses on the use of the bon mot by a character to escape unpleasantness or punishment. Although the bon mot is central to all stories in the sixth day, Chichibio perhaps best exemplifies the use of the bon mot in the fourth story. When Chichibio’s position as chef is threatened, “in some...
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... who are of ugly appearance or lesser rank, perhaps to level the playing field in life. Boccaccio uses Fortune’s gift of wit to members of lesser rank to upset the social order of his time, and to display his encouragement of women to realize themselves as independent persons. Finally, Boccaccio teaches us that the power of words ties the creator of the words with his creation, and allows him to better himself through practice. In the sixth day of Boccaccio’s Decameron, all of the uses of words, especially the use of the bon mot, allow persons of various appearances and ranks to realize the power of words and use them to escape physical or emotional torment.
Works Cited
Boccaccio, Giovanni. The Decameron. Trans. G.H. McWilliam. 2nd ed. New York: Penguin Books, 1972. Print.
Ferrante, Joan M., “Narrative Patterns in the Decameron.” Romance Philology May 1978. Web.
The Shadow of the Galilean by Gerd Theissen is a fictional narrative about a Jewish merchant, Andreas, searching for information about a group of people known as Essenes, John the Baptist, and Jesus of Nazareth. While traveling through Jerusalem Andreas was imprisoned by the Romans thinking he was a part of a demonstration against Polite when his mission was to find Jesus. Andreas writes, “I never met Jesus on my travels through Galilee. I just found traces of him everywhere: anecdotes and stories, traditions and rumors. But everything that I heard of him fits together.
Antonio Manetti, a Florentine Humanist and holder of several high offices in Florence, was the author of the delightful novella known as the Fat Woodworker. This novella, first published in its final refined form in the 1470’s, tells the story of a rather complex and slightly malicious trick created by a genius architect known as Filippo Brunelleschi. While the trick is mean at times, the reader tends to not notice because of the comedic way that the fat woodworker reacts. The prank that unfolds can in some ways closely parallel the many tricks that occur in Boccaccio’s Decameron, though there are some large differences.
Vannatta, Dennis. "Theme and Structure in Tim O'Brien's Going After Cacciato." Modern Fiction Studies 28 (Summer 1982): 242-246.
5. Lesley Adkins, Roy A Adkins, Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome, Oxford University Press, 1998. (pg. 304)
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Some male characters in this book have values that do not draw parallels with their stature in life. For example, Schedoni is a monk, supposedly a loving and caring individual who spreads the word of God. In reality, he conspires with the Marchesa (in a church) to commit a mortal sin, by telling her, "...this girl is put out of the way of committing more mischief..." (173). This action shows his true color, usually green, and through his large ego, this jealous nature reveals itself. If he is secure as a person, these petty grievances against Vivaldi would be just that, petty. Bonarmo's personality does not correspond to his stature either. He is a servant whose loyalty to his master deserts him. He is too independent and too intelligent to be in servitude to a master whom he does not believe superior to himself. These characters possess too much pride and ego to live in a world where they are not always in co...
3)Dionysius, Earnest Cary, and Edward Spelman. The Roman Antiquities. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard UP, 1937. Print.
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In his Earlier Rule, Francis encouraged the friars to preach through their actions rather than their words (Let all the brothers, however preach by their deeds). For Francis, gestures and symbols were as important as the words themselves. In the Franciscan sources, Francis depended as much on dramatic gestures and images as he did upon words he spoke (or didn’t speak) to preach his message. The meal at the Greccio provides an excellent example of how Francis used both of these elements, as well as words to make manifest “sermon”. This paper will examine this Greccio meal through the lens of two sources, the earlier Assisi Compilation and the later work, The Remembrance of the Desire of a Soul by Thomas of Celano. The Greccio meal will be compared and contrasted in these two sources, especially with regards to the significance of Francis unspoken actions within these writings. For Francis, actions did indeed speak louder than words.
Boccaccio's tenth story, "Locking the Devil Up in Hell," depicts a young women who has been manipulated by pious men into doing sexual acts as her righteousness to please God has overwhelmed her wits. Boccaccio characterizes the women as naive as one can be, she is obsessed with pleasing God that she will listen to anyone who speaks on how."Oh, Father," replied the girl in all innocence, "if I really do have a Hell, let's do as you suggest just as soon as
The clown contributes towards the humourous entertainment of this play through his numerous puns and jokes. He is a source of laughter, not because we are humoured by his "foolery"; for he proves to be no fool at all; but rather because he amuses us with his brilliant wit. Having mastered the art of jesting, Feste is sensitive of his profession, always aware of the circumstances he is in and the appropriateness of this folly.
Bosola's inconsistency makes him different to some of the other characters in the play; the Cardinal is always cold and calculating, Antonio is honorable and benevolent and Ferdinand is fierce and aggressive, even in his mad state. There is no change in their characters, yet Bosola reaches beyond the confinements of the stereotypical role of `black malcontent', as Antonio describes him, altering his opinion of the Duchess as a prostitute, `this precise fellow is the Duchess' bawd', to seeing her as a noble woman and feeling compassion for her in her last moments of life, `Return fair soul from darkness, and lead mine out of this sensible hell!' Bosola's capricious nature makes him more convincing and realistic as a character. At the beginning of the play, the audience will probably dislike Bosola's cruel, pessimistic look on life. His change in opinion t...
Parker, Bertha M. "Bo-Ce." The Golden Book Encyclopedia. Ed. James Ertel. 3rd ed. 1959. 274-75. Print.
Acknowledging Barthes’s theory allows the reader to break free of dictatorship the author may posses by promoting the reader to freely think about the pieces of literature such as Balthazar’s Marvelous Afternoon. Autonomous thinking gives the reader the advantage of discovering the duplicity of a potential underlying connotation or simply deciding not to delve deeper for hidden implications that may be sought out by the author. Barthes’s, The Death of the Author, provides the reader with knowledge and enlightenment in order to have the freedom to dive and think critically about the subject and characters written about in the narrative by Balzac. Barthes’s, The Death of the Author, proposes literary theories that can be directly related to the subjectivity of how a reader chooses to synthesis the meaning or meaninglessness of Balthazar’s Marvelous Afternoon.