Structure of the
Decameron
- Day 1: In this first day,
the topic is free. This day introduces several themes.
- Day 2: Man fighting
against fortune and succeeding.
- Day 3: Man succeeds in
overcoming adverse fortune because of his/her own merit
- Day 4: Love stories
that end in sorrow and defeat.
- Day 5: Love stories that
end happily after some difficulties.
- Day 6: The triumph of
human intelligence.
- Day 7: Wives tricking
their husbands.
- Day 8: Both man and women
playing tricks on each other.
- Day 9: Analysis of human
vices.
- Day 10: Presentation of
human virtue and noble feelings (fortune: 1-3; love: 4-7; intelligence: 8-9; and the
conclusion in 10, where all the preceding themes are present in one story).
There are ten characters in the tale introduced by the Introduction.
This tale contains all
other tales.
Four of these characters are form Boccaccio's earlier
works,
they are:
- Pampinea: she represents
virtue, no harm can came form her, she is an intellectual mature woman.
- Fiammetta: she burns with
the flame of passion and jealousy.
- Filomena: she is prudent
and the most discreet.
- Emilia: she in love with
her own beauty, she is the abstract lover.
The next three are new to the Decameron:
- Elissa: she is a bitter
person, betrayed by love.
- Lauretta: she is someone
who lives in a dream world.
- Neifile: she is new to
love, she is the one with no experience in love.
All tree young men are from Boccaccio's earlier works:
- Filostrato: he is the
expression of melancholy, destroyed by love's passion.
- Panfilo:, he is the lover,
always ready to fall in love.
- Dioneo: he is sensual,
joking, fun-lover, free spirit, he tells the sexiest stories.