Read Boccaccio's account of the plague in Florence at the link below. What can you tell about Boccaccio's values and concerns from this account? In what ways might seeing the kinds of things he describes affect his writing and his general view of life?Monday, April 14, 2014
Boccaccio's Account of the Black Death (extra credit)
Read Boccaccio's account of the plague in Florence at the link below. What can you tell about Boccaccio's values and concerns from this account? In what ways might seeing the kinds of things he describes affect his writing and his general view of life?
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Boccaccio's account of the plague in Florence has very vivid details and really gives a picture of the horrible things that went on during this time. It seemed hopeless for many. I thought it was really sad when he began to talk about how people used to have funeral ceremonies and mourn, and eventually most of this went away, and some people turned to just dumping the corpses. People were becoming depressed and hopeless and were leaving their original values behind. If I were Boccaccio, it would be very hard for me to keep a positive attitude with all the things going on around me. I think this would eventually show in his writing, the negative effects on the people around him would give his writing a little different feel than before. It seemed like it was hard for many of the people, after going through such hardship, to keep faith in God. However, seeing these horrible things, I think would make him realize how delicate life is and that it is important to use the limited time he has on Earth to make something great out of himself. It is easy to see that Boccaccio's is astonished by the amount of people dying and how quickly it is occurring leaving huge estates with no nobles, families, or successors to live in them.
ReplyDeleteDuring the age of the black death numerous people were dying and started loosing hope in their faith and their lives. Boccaccio tried to help the people who's lives were effected by the plague by trying to gain some sort of faith and religion back in their lives. Dealing with all of these negative outcomes and seeing others go through it also, one would think that his writing would be much different, be a little more sad and glum, but they are not.
ReplyDeleteIn reading Baccaccio’s account of the Black Death and how it swept through Italy, it is clear that his customs and values are first viewed in a manner of hierarchy. He discusses the top of the echelon being that of Lords and Ladies, (“Oh, how many grand palaces, how many beautiful homes, how many noble dwellings, filled with families, with lords and ladies, became completely emptied even of children! Oh, how many famous families, how many vast estates, how many renowned fortunes remained without any rightful successors!”) all the way down to the peasants that live in the countryside (“And beyond all the particulars we suffered in the city, I will tell you not only about the ill times passing through the city, but also mention that the countryside was not spared these circumstances.”) However, when he does discuss in depth, the time of the plague, between the months of March and July when the true devastation occurred, the hierarchy is not maintained at all. People were viewed and discussed merely as people, regardless of wealth or title and their suffering and deaths were horrendous, no matter where they lived, what their employment was, or who they were. Class distinction no longer existed.
ReplyDeleteAll customs and rituals that were previously used to distinguish class amongst the masses are thrown to the wayside – there was so much fear of the Plague that the people acted really in two manners. Either they stayed inside, and sequestered themselves from the outside world fighting their inevitable death, or they went on a rampant party, living the remainder of their time to the fullest. Because the devastation was so rampant, previous specific customs and rituals in regard to death and burial were irrelevant. There was no one to oversee a loved one’s death, there was no one to make and/or maintain wills or estates; parents were gone, children were gone in the matter of days or even hours. Burial rituals became non-existent with bodies being thrown into the streets for pick-up and eventually mass burial.
Religiously, it seems that God became irrelevant as well. People throughout Christendom had prayed devoutly to be spared from the plague. Why hadn't those prayers been answered? What had people done to deny God and his Hand to keep them safe and free from harm? “How much more can be said of the cruelty of heaven…” this fairly sums up Baccaccio’s religious perspective.
It seems, through this writing, that Baccaccio’s general view of life was pretty much “this is it”. There didn’t seem to be much positive aspect for life, because basically everyone in the city was doomed to death. It is quite amazing that Baccaccio “lived to tell”, much less write about what he witnessed first-hand. And it makes me wonder if he dealt with any sense of “survivor’s guilt”?