1st Edition

The Writer as Liar Narrative Technique in the Decameron

By Guido Almansi Copyright 1975
    176 Pages
    by Routledge

    176 Pages
    by Routledge

    Originally published in 1975, The Writer as Liar examines the literary game of falsehood as it is portrayed in the Decameron. The book examines how Boccaccio’s collection of tales has a ‘frame’ story, its own built-in key to the art of story-telling, its internal logic of truth and falsehood, as well as its moments of self-parody, pure narrative intrigue and sophisticated sexual symbolism. The book formulates the argument that Boccaccio’s story telling is seen as an artfully malicious operation, depending for its success not on some abstract concept of narrative originality or the accurate depiction of human psychology, but on the combinative assemblage of narrative blocks, which are manipulated by a craftsman who must lie and cheat with raw material in order to produce a living work – therefore depicting the artist as a liar.

    Introduction

    1. Narrative Screens

    2. Literature and Falsehood

    3. Bawdry and Ars Combinatoria

    4. The Meaning of a Storm

    5. Passion and Metaphor

    Bibliographical Conventions

    Index

    Biography

    Guido Almansi