Boccaccio in England

Professor Wrights objective is to see Boccaccio in relation to the personality of the writers to whom he appealed and simultaneously to observe the changing taste of successive ages as it was revealed by their choice among Bocccaccios writings. Boccaccio was also a Eurpoean literary phenomenon, and this study attempts to consider his fortunes on the Continent. In considering Chaucers relation to Boccaccio, the author examines Chaucers poems afresh, studying the Italian originals closely in order to ascertain the precise nature of the English adaptation or transformation. Various minor figures of English literature are also dealt with at some length due to the importance of Boccaccios influence on their work.