Genre
Collection of stories
Setting and Context
Set in 1348 and written in the context of religion.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Sad, horrific, terrifying, disheartening
Protagonist and Antagonist
Dioneo is the central character in the book.
Major Conflict
The central conflict is that the city of Florence is infected by a plague that has caused chaos and disaster among the people.
Climax
The climax is when seven young women gather in Santa Maria Novella church to pray and avoid the vision of death.
Foreshadowing
Black Death foreshadowed the plague that invaded the city people.
Understatement
The power of prayer is understated. When the women go to church to pray, they are hopeful that they will evade the plague.
Allusions
The story alludes to the absurdity restricted within the Decameron, which does not engross the church.
Imagery
The imagery of the city of Florence in the 14th century depicts sight enabling readers to see how the Black Death subjected people to misery and death.
Paradox
The main paradox is when the three men accompany seven women to church to pray. While in the church, it is satirical that these characters start telling stories that are not related to prayer.
Parallelism
There is parallelism between prayer and natural disasters. People need to be prepared on how to handle plagues.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Black Death is a metonymy for disasters that are beyond human control
Personification
N/A
