Name: Boccaccio
Nationality: Italy
Date: 1313-1375
Position: humanist writer
Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), a.k.a. Boccaccio, Italian The outstanding representative of the Renaissance movement, humanist. His masterpiece, The Decameron, criticized religious old-fashioned thinking and advocated "happiness on earth", which was regarded as the manifesto of the Renaissance. Together with Dante and Petrarch, he is known as the "Three Masters of Literature". [edit]Biography Boccaccio was the illegitimate son of Boccaccio of Caelino, a Florentine merchant, and a French woman. There is a lack of precise information about his birthplace. He is said to have been born in Cittardo, near Florence, or in Paris. His mother died when he was young and he came to Florence with his father. Soon after, his father remarried and he spent his childhood in the coldness of his strict father and stepmother.
Then he was sent by his father to Naples, where he reluctantly studied business in a trading house in which his father was a shareholder, with no success. His father in turn made him study law and religious codes instead, but neither business nor law attracted his interest. Having loved literature from an early age, he began to teach himself poetics and read the works of classic authors. This life gave him first-hand experience of the lives of citizens and merchants as well as thoughts and feelings that he incorporated into the Decameron, which he would later write.
While living in Naples, Boccaccio had access to the court of King Robert of Anglio. Here his suppressed personality and talents were given full rein. He traveled extensively with many humanist poets, scholars, theologians, and jurists, and was exposed to the life of noble knights. This enriched his life experience, broadened his cultural and artistic horizons, and further renewed his interest in classical culture and literature. He met Robert's illegitimate daughter Maria at court and fell in love with her. This romantic experience also left a deep mark on his literary creation, and some of the women he later portrayed in his literary works can be seen in Maria's shadow.
In the winter of 1340, Boccaccio's father's business activities suffered a setback, and his financial situation deteriorated. Unable to maintain his former life of leisure, Boccaccio returned to Florence. In the fierce political struggles in Florence, he always stood firmly on the side of the **** and the government against the power of the feudal aristocracy. He joined the guilds, served in the position of managing the finances, and was repeatedly commissioned by the **** and the government as an envoy to other Italian city-states and the Holy See to carry out diplomatic missions.
In 1350, Boccaccio became acquainted with the poet Petrarch. The following year, he was commissioned to invite the exiled Petrarch back to Florence to lead a scholarly discussion. From then on, the two brilliant humanists developed a close friendship.
Boccaccio studied the classics and became a learned humanist. He translated the works of Homer and made important contributions to the collection, translation and exegesis of ancient texts. In his later years, he devoted himself to the interpretation and exposition of the Divine Comedy, and once presided over a discussion of the Divine Comedy at the University of Florence.
On October 23, 1373, Boccaccio gave his last lecture at a discussion of the Divine Comedy at the University of Florence. The following year, the death of his covenantal friend Petrarch gave him a great mental shock, and on December 21, 1375, Boccaccio died in Cittaldo. [edit]Composition Boccaccio was a talented, diligent and prolific writer. He was famous for his short stories and sagas, as well as for his narrative poems, pastoral songs, sonnets, and his scholarly writings.
The legendary novel Philokolos was Boccaccio's first work, written around 1336. Set in the Spanish court, it draws on medieval legends to recount the love story of a Christian young woman and a young pagan. They overcame all obstacles and the lovers were finally united. Two of the stories in The Decameron are taken from this work. Philokolos is an early European novel.
The narrative poems Philostrato (c. 1338) and Tessa?da (1340-1341), which take their themes from the Trojan Legend and Virgil's Aeneid, respectively, glorify pure love and noble friendship, and show the beauty of life and the joy of friendship, injecting modern emotions into the classical themes. They celebrate pure love and noble friendship. These two works are the first eight-line poems.
The pastoral saga The Goddesses of Ameto (also known as The Comedy of the Florentine Goddesses, c. 1341) is modeled on Dante's The New Life in that it is in prose with three rhyming stanzas. Boccaccio borrows mythological themes and writes lyrically about the transformation of Alecto from a rough shepherd youth to a man of noble character under the influence of love, interspersed with seven goddesses telling Alecto about their own love experiences.
The long poem "The Vision of Love" (1342-1343), influenced by Dante's Divine Comedy, is written in three rhyming stanzas and is characterized by metaphorical poetry. Boccaccio recounts one of his own allegorical journeys, combining the celebration of virtue with the praise of pure love.
The Goddess of Fiesola (1343-1354) is another long poem in eight lines, about the goddess and the shepherd who fall in love and are punished for offending the goddess Diana, the lovers are transformed into two rivers, but in the end, they both flow into the river Arno, and are brought together again. The Lamentations of Philometra, is an important work next to the Decameron. It was written between 1343 and 1344 after Boccaccio returned to Florence from Naples. It is the earliest psychological novel in Europe. It describes the suffering of Fiammetta, a woman who was abandoned by her lover, and expresses her love and resentment, her hope and pain, and her hope for the return of her lover in great detail.
These works are all characterized by the theme of love, drawing on ancient Greek and Roman poetry, myths and legends, showing traces of medieval traditions and chivalric literature, but getting rid of the clichés, full of the pursuit of human life and happiness, and condemning asceticism. In his later years, Boccaccio devoted himself to the study of classical culture, and buried himself in his works The Genealogy of the Pagan Gods (1350-1375) and The Biography of Dante are two of the most important works. The former is a rich historical account of the origins of gods and heroes, demonstrating the foundations of mythology, while the latter is one of the earliest scholarly works on Dante in Italy. In his theoretical writings, Boccaccio criticized the Church's denigration of poetry and put forward the viewpoint that "poetry is theology"; he elaborated that poetry should imitate nature and reflect life, and emphasized the great role of literature in enlightenment and education; he demanded that poets should draw nourishment from the culture of ancient Greece and Rome, and emphasized on fictionalization and imagination. Although Boccaccio had not yet completely got rid of the concepts of medieval theology, his literary theories laid the foundation for the development of Renaissance poetics. [edit] The Decameron In 1348, a terrible plague struck Florence, Italy. Every day, even every hour, large batches of corpses were brought outside the city. From March to July, the disease died of more than 100,000 people, the former beautiful and prosperous city of Florence, became a cemetery all over the place, the corpses and bones of the field, miserable. This incident gave a great Italian writer Boccaccio a deep impact. In order to write down this disaster of mankind, he took this plague as the background and wrote one of the most famous Italian short story collection "The Decameron" at that time. At the time, the Decameron was known as "The Human Comedy," a literary work on a par with Dante's Divine Comedy, and was also known as the Divine Comedy's sister work.
The Decameron tells the story of 10 young men and women who took refuge in the countryside in 1348 when the Black Death was raging in Florence, and spent their time feasting, dancing, and telling stories, each telling a story for 10 days, and ****ing up 100 stories. Humanist thought is like a red thread running through this collection of stories. The author directs his attack on religious theology and the Church, exposing canon law as the evil cause of the monks' treachery and hypocrisy, unflinchingly removing the veil of the Church's sanctity, and pungently ridiculing the Papacy's residence, Rome, as the "great furnace of all evils". Love stories occupy an important place in the Decameron. The author believes that asceticism is against the laws of nature and human nature, and that people have the right to enjoy love and present happiness. In many stories, he praises with great enthusiasm the struggle of young men and women to break through the feudal hierarchical concepts, defy money and power, and strive for happiness. The Decameron also criticizes feudal privileges and defends social equality and gender equality. Many stories recount the victory of the lowly over the noble with wisdom and perseverance. The author also preached the ideal of a well-rounded human being, emphasizing that a person should be healthy and handsome as well as intelligent, courageous, versatile, and fully and harmoniously developed.
Boccaccio, with his rich knowledge of life and great artistic power, portrayed hundreds of characters of different classes, three religions and nine schools, with distinctive personality and character, showing a broad picture of social life in Italy, and expressing the ideas of freedom in the early Renaissance. He adopted a box structure and skillfully linked the 100 stories together, making it an exceptionally complete work both ideologically and artistically. These stories draw on the characteristics of the spoken folk language, the language is refined, fluent, and playful, vivid, creating a unique art form of the European short story. The Decameron had a profound influence on European literature. Many writers in Britain, France, Spain and Germany imitated the Decameron or drew creative materials from its stories. [edit]Opera of the same name A comedy in three acts based on a historical figure, Gill wrote the libretto in collaboration with Dini, who based it on Morreca's The Beggar's Student, featuring Boccaccio, the 14th-century Italian poet and author of the Decameron. Sophy composed the music. first performed on February 1, 1978, at the Teatro Carruru in Vienna, Austria. in 1931 at the Metropolitan Opera in the United States, the libretto had already been changed to a declamatory tone, and it was staged in the style of a grand opera. in 1992, it was performed in London.
Supe himself has said that "Boccaccio" was the greatest success of all his works in his life, and in the year and eleven months after its premiere in Vienna*** it was performed 100 times, and in the United States it was soon sung in English and also became a big hit. But this opera is still better suited to a lighter, happier approach, and this work, overflowing with easily relatable songs and a pleasant melody, is Suppe's best work.
Performance time:
Overture: 7 minutes Act I: 52 minutes Act II: 30 minutes Act III: 17 minutes
Characters:
Giovanni Boccaccio, poet, tenor
Leone, the student, the lover of Bedrizzi, baritone
Biardo, Prince of Palermo, baritone
Roitenreich, the Barrel Maker. Tenor
Isabella Wife of Rotenki Mezzo-soprano
Lamberto Tuccio Grocer Tenor
Bellona Wife of Lamberto Tuccio Basso
Fiameda Adopted Daughter of a Grocer Soprano
Scalcha Barber Baritone
Bedrizzi Wife of Scalcha Soprano
Bookseller Baritone
Butler Baritone
Keke Beggar Baritone
Duke Disguised as a strange man Baritone
Villagers, students, and many others.
The story takes place in the 14th century in the city of Florence, Italy.
Plot description:
The opening is preceded by a light-hearted overture.
Act I Piazza in front of the Church of Santa Maria Novella
The Catholic Church of Santa Maria Novella is on the left of the stage, and on the right is the store of the barber, Scalcha, with the fountain in the center.
Today is the anniversary of St. John the Baptist (patron saint) of Florence, and the beggar, Cecco, arranges for his partners to split up into separate begging locations and motivates each other that it's a good day to make money, and that they must act pathetic. Since Bedrizzi's husband, Scalcha, is away from home, Léoné sneaks into the barber's house with the key she gave him.
People flocked to the square one by one, singing joyful choruses in celebration of the holiday. At that moment lorries laden with new books were being sold by booksellers, one side of which called out, "New book, new book published"! It was a satire on men written by Boccaccio, and it was so popular with the women that they gathered around to compete for it. But the men were furious that the women would all turn into ghosts if they read this guy's book. As the bookseller pulled his van out of the square, everyone trailed behind.
Boccaccio waited for the group to be gone and was eager to meet Fiammetta, so he crept into her house. Immediately afterward, Rohitenji and Rambetuccio make an appearance together, and as they scold and demean Boccaccio, Skalcha returns unexpectedly. He says he missed his wife during the trip and came home a day early. The two traveled together because of a chance encounter with Prince Biyadu of Palermo, who wanted to come to Florence. When he knocked lightly on the front door, there was no answer at all, so he thought his wife was still asleep and sang a serenade.
Bedrizzi, terrified by her husband's sudden return, quickly came up with a plan and immediately ran out of the house screaming "Help! I told him to hide. In an instant another man rushed in, waving his sword in anger. By this time these two men were dueling in the house!"
While the four nervous men were hesitating in fear, two young men, wearing false masks, dueled while Street went outside the house. The terrified Skalcha then rushed into the house, pulling his wife with him and locking the door behind him, and Luo Tianji and the others fled. When everyone had dispersed, the two friends removed their masks and laughed heartily. Boccaccio, facing the assembled students, said that this was the time to add another fictional subject, and he sang the aria "A Young Man Standing There".
After the students had dispersed, Scalcha, on the one hand, instructed his wife that the gate must be locked at all times, and on the other said he walked to the square and proceeded in the direction of the church. Then, Rotenki and his wife, Isabella, and the owner of the food store and his wife, Beronella, with their adopted daughter, Fiameda, also walked toward the church. At this point Fiammetta's eyes are looking around, hoping to see the young man she runs into every time she goes to church. Boccaccio quietly walked up to Fiameda so that Beronera wouldn't notice.
At this point, Beronella tells her adopted daughter, "The gentleman who sends monthly support says that you are to be married recently." Expressing her distaste for a marriage without love, Beronella sings "If He Loves Me" (Love is a Gentle Wildflower).
Boccaccio suddenly appeared to both of them and gave holy water to a surprised Fiammetta. Beronera said, "You are a pious young man," and took her daughter into the church. At this point, Prince Beato of Palermo appeared on the scene and said to himself, "Though I have decided to marry the daughter of the Archduke of Florence, in my heart I would like to experience the love of a Florentine girl, as depicted in Boccaccio's novel.
When the student Léoné came out to talk to Boccaccio, Pietro was so pleased that Italy's most famous novelist was close at hand that he went up to him, gave his false name, and asked to be taken as a disciple. Unexpectedly, Boccaccio said that if one wanted to experience love, not to write novels, then Léoné would be the most appropriate teacher, and with that he fled.
Leone said, "If you want to experience it for yourself, then how about that woman?" At the same time pointing to Isabella, wife of the Barrelmaker, who had just stepped out. Biyondo happily says that such a beautiful woman is certainly satisfactory, and then can't wait to walk up to her to strike up a conversation and agree on a place and time for tomorrow's rendezvous. When Biyatao wanted to report to Boccaccio because it was going well, and inquired of Léoné where he lived, Lotenky and Rambetuccio happened to be passing by and overheard them, mistook Biyatao for Boccaccio, and decided that they would have to fix him up, so they chased after Biyatao and beat him up.
Then Boccaccio appeared disguised as a beggar and approached Fiammetta, who had just come out of the church, and poured out his love to her. She immediately knew it was Boccaccio just by the sound of the voice, and she summoned the courage to sing a beautiful duet with him. After she leaves, Léoné runs over to warn Boccaccio to flee, and the two are lost. When Luo Tianji and the others came after them and pounced on them, they were sorry to say that these ghosts and spirits had been escaped again, so they chorused in unison that they must find out this Boccaccio, who had spread his evil virtues into the city, and make him suffer a little.
While Scalcha the barber was left alone, a group of students came up to him clamoring for a haircut, which he refused, saying he didn't want to open now. At that point, Lautenki and others dragged up Bijodo, who was mistaken for Boccaccio, and then the group punched and kicked him. After witnessing this, Scalcha also ran out of the store, and as soon as he saw that Biyadu was being beaten, he immediately shouted out to stop the violence and told them that this man was the Prince of Palermo, who had come to Florence with him. They realized that they had the wrong person, and since the other person was the prince, they fell on their knees in fear and begged for forgiveness, and the prince could only forgive this group of reckless people with bitterness.
Then the mysterious bookseller reappears, and Luo Tianji angrily incites the group that the books should all be burned. The students protested that even if the books were burned, the shadows remained. Just as some set fire to the books, others looted them in the midst of chaos.
Act II The Backyard of the Lambertochos' House and the Square by the Rotenki's Factory
The trio of Boccaccio, Léoné, and Biyodo make their appearance together. Biyato's target is Isabella, and Boccaccio prepares for a rendezvous with Fiammetta, but asks Léoné to lure her away because his foster mother, Beronella, is in the way. Since then, the trio have been serenading each different target under their windows.
Then the three rushed to hide due to the return of Lotenki. Luo Tianji begins to make barrels and sings the "Song of Barrel Building" with his apprentices in high spirits. Luo Tianji states that the barrels must be delivered to the hotel, and then takes his disciples along for the ride and a drink on the way. The three men then each offered love letters to their lovers, and the women moodily read them and sang this "Trio of Letters".
First Biyondo sneaks into Isabella's place, but as the owner soon returns, she introduces herself as a customer who has come to buy a vat. Since the leak-proof asphalt inside the vat has not yet been applied, the two take the opportunity to flirt when it comes time to ask their husbands to climb in and work on the vat. On the other hand, Releone, though desperately trying to court Beronella, hides as his master returns.
Then Boccaccio, disguised as a farmer and saying he had been commissioned to come and harvest the olives in the yard, walked in but as soon as he saw the trees he exclaimed, "Oh no, these olive trees have been possessed!" The astonished Lambertocho retorted, "This is impossible, and then climbed up into the trees to check them out. Taking advantage of this opening, Boccaccio then clasped Fiammetta in his arms, while Beronella was embraced by Léoné. That's when Skalcha's angry roar came from the distance, "A disguised Boccaccio has infiltrated the house!" The three young men then quickly hid.
Skalcha, who had walked in, told Lambertocho, who had come down from the trees, that the news had been overheard from the students' conversations, so there was no mistaking it, and that they were acting as lookouts and were surrounding the dwelling. At that moment a stranger was dragged in, and, thinking him to be Boccaccio, they struck again and beat him. But Rambetuccio told everyone that he was the man who had come to deliver Fiammetta's maintenance, and they apologized to him in embarrassment.
The man said that today he must take Fiammetta away, and that the palanquin was waiting outside. Fiameda was both horrified and saddened to hear this, but when she heard Boccaccio's voice coming from a hidden place, she lifted her spirits and followed the visitor to the palanquin. Then Boccaccio and the others, disguised as devils, rushed out shouting "We are devils" and frightened away the bearers of the palanquin.
Act III The Court of the Grand Duke of Florence
The Lamberto Giuliano couple, summoned to the court, are surprised to learn that Fiammetta is the illegitimate daughter of the Grand Duke. Biyadu has long known of Boccaccio's passionate love for Fiammetta, so he has asked Boccaccio to write a play to celebrate their wedding. Boccaccio writes a play about Prince Biyadu, how he molested Isabella, the barrel maker's wife, and how he fooled the barrel maker, suggesting that Fiammetta was in love with Boccaccio. Upon hearing this, Biyadu tells Boccaccio, "I have no interest in marrying the Archduke's daughter now." With that, he turned and left.
Then Phi Amida made her appearance, and on seeing Bhojachu said, "Are you the Bhojachu who writes those immodest novels?" He hastened to swear to her, "The content of my future novels will be based only on imagination, and I will no longer try to experience them for myself." Fiammetta was delighted: this was very good, and promised to intercede with her father, at which point the two sang the love duet, "The Beauties of Florence in Particular," after which she departed first.
Then Lamberto Giulio and others came out, and with one voice denounced Boccaccio, and the novelist, not to be outdone, ridiculed them in turn as hypocrites. At this point Prince Biyodo appeared with Fiammetta and announced to the crowd, "I have decided to bring about the marriage of the two of you!" And he appointed Boccaccio professor of literature at the university. The people at the wedding feast, *** sang a chorus of praise and humor to end this comedy."