View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Saladin go to Melchisedech?

2. Tiring of Monna Lisetta's vain confessions, what does Brother Alberto do?

3. What does Pietro end up with that is worth more than the money he lost?

4. What does Ghismunda do when she sees her father will not look for another husband for her?

5. What does Tancredi have done to Guiscardo after he learns of his affair with Ghismunda?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the handsome Masetto manage to become the gardener for a convent of eight nuns and an abbess?

2. How does Andreuccio turn the tales on the two robbers?

3. Why have the young people of the novel left Florence and gone into the country?

4. How does Tancredi discover the affair between Ghismunda and Guiscardo?

5. What ultimately happens after Ciappelletto dies?

6. Why does Isabetta cry over a pot of basil?

7. Describe the character of Ciappelletto who is put in charge of the affairs of Musciatto Franzesi .

8. What means of entertainment do the young people devise?

9. What do the village women tell Alibech after she explains how she put the devil back into hell with Rustico.

10. Describe the happy occasion for Alatiel as she prepares to get married.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, THE DECAMERON as a Forerunner to Novels with Sexual Themes. First discuss the largely sexual nature of THE DECAMERON. Then compare the work to Henry Fielding's TOM JONES, Daniel Defoe's MOLL FLANDERS, and Henry Miller's TROPIC OF CANCER.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, Why THE DECAMERON Should Be Required Reading. In your essay include the historic value of the book, the impact the book has had on modern novels, and the classic nature of the work. Discuss THE DECAMERON as a means of understanding the period of the Black Death in Europe and the attitude of living for today because tomorrow we may die. Conclude with why you think a reader is enriched by reading this particular work.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, Views of the Clergy in THE DECAMERON. Use the arguments put forth by Tedaldo in the Seventh Tale to point out the various excesses the general public observed in the behavior of the clergy.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 746 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample