{"product_id":"boccaccio-defends-literature-4","title":"Boccaccio Defends Literature","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eBoccaccio Defends Literature\u003c\/em\u003e, Brenda Deen Schildgen contends that Giovanni Boccaccio’s significant contribution to literary history remains underappreciated. The book asserts that Boccaccio refuted the detractors that condemned poetry as immoral, irrational, and even demonic, highlighting instead its aesthetic and cathartic ability to restore equilibrium, provoke thought, and provide solace and entertainment.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe book explores how, despite often being dismissed for his morally dubious tales, Boccaccio dedicated himself to defending the legacy of the ancients, endorsing vernacular and secular literature, and cementing the reputations of Dante and Petrarch. It reveals how he forged a wholly new direction for literary prose fiction, driven by his commitment to humanistic studies and admiration for literary achievement. Without moral or spiritual hesitation, Boccaccio asserted that literature – whether pagan or Christian – was an autonomous form of knowledge, a stance he maintained from the 1350s to the end of his life.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eContesting the arguments of moralists who sought to ban books, Schildgen demonstrates that Boccaccio advocated for the independence of readers, asserting that they, not writers, bore the responsibility for their responses to literature. \u003cem\u003eBoccaccio Defends Literature\u003c\/em\u003e thus unveils Boccaccio as a steadfast defender of the enduring relevance of literature.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"By Brenda Deen Schildgen","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54970089439612,"sku":"9781487558949","price":59.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0251\/4980\/0541\/files\/9781487558949_71f7d61d-094a-4c5d-aeea-38ffe4e98635.jpg?v=1740402949","url":"https:\/\/combined-academic.myshopify.com\/products\/boccaccio-defends-literature-4","provider":"Combined Academic Publishers - Mare Nostrum Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}