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Day 5: Tenth Tale
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Decameron, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love and Sex
Men and Women
Moderation and Excess
Intelligence
Class and Character
Faith vs. Religion
Summary
Analysis
With Dioneo’s story at an end, Fiammetta crowns Elissa as the next day’s sovereign. She decrees that the next day’s theme will be people who have returned tit for tat or who have been saved from danger or ridicule by way of a quick reply.
Since the first day, many of The Decameron’s tales have turned on a clever answer or timely reply. Thus, many threads previously introduced to the larger work will be woven through the tales of Day 6, based on Elissa’s theme of wisecrack and retort.
Active
Themes
After dinner, as Emilia begins to dance, Elissa asks Dioneo to sing. He tries a bunch of bawdy songs, which are all rejected by the ladies, until finally agreeing on a “pleasant” song that describes how the light from a lady’s eyes kindles love in a man’s heart and subjects him to Cupid’s sovereignty.
Active
Themes
