Abstract
The paper begins with a discussion of allegory as a literary tool. The writer then continues with an in-depth analysis of each story and evaluates how they fit in to this definition, finding each in their own way to be particularly effective uses of allegory.

From the Paper
"Allegories in literature aim to assert and emphasize societal values (O'Siodhachain, 2). This stands true for the poems "Romance of the Rose" by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun, and "The Inferno" by Dante Alighieri. Although the subject and societal issues the poems allude to differ from each other, the method employed to convey a lesson or promote a social truth through an entertaining format is identical. Through the use of allegory, the reader is aware of Lorris and Jean's views on love and reason, as well as Dante's views on the fall of Man."

Tags:society, values, Alighieri, lesson, loe, truth, Virgil, stone, mankind

From the Paper
"Christine de Pizan's Book of the City of Ladies (1405) was written to counteract the lies and misrepresentations about women's character that the author found in literature in which all the male writers seemed to "speak from one and the same mouth" (4). She resolved, with the help and guidance of the allegorical figures of Reason, Rectitude, and Justice, to write a demonstration of the invaluable contributions of women throughout history. She intended to counteract the ridiculous claims by male writers "that the behavior of women is inclined to and full of every vice" (4). Her examples range from the mythological Amazons to the women of the Old Testament and examples from more recent history. The greatest number, however, derived from classical history and literature. One of the best known, or, as Pizan put it, the woman whose "fame has surpassed that of all..."

Abstract
The paper examines the drama "Six Character in Search of an Author," written by Luigi Pirandello, which is play within a play. The paper shows Pirandello's theme throughout the play that life is a script with people fixed to patterns that are evident in everyday workings of life and through the history of previous lives.

From the Paper
"The drama Six Characters in Search of an Author, written by Luigi Pirandello, is a play within a play, full of reality philosophizing, which shows how people are real in the same way that characters are. These two themes are highly reflective on what it means to be a play, by comparing it to life, and what it means to be a person, by comparing what it means to be a character. The drama is an assemblage of a play, put together on the spot, when six characters enter another play's rehearsal in search of an author who will manifest their roles by writing a script to their drama. This is their one bent purpose in life, to live on the stage, in their world in which they are real. Though they seem alive, as they are in their search, they are not fulfilling the purpose of filling their roles. They need to tell their stories, they desire reaffirmation of existence and for this they need their fixed reality, the stage. Their script is this means of existence and acting the script out is a means of living or being real. People in the same way are doomed to be scripted; identical to characters, they live only within their fixed play, that which acts itself out from birth to death."

Tags:author, characters, italian, reality, search, theater

Abstract
This paper discusses "The Decameron" by Boccaccio. The author focuses on the use of casual sex and jeopardized morals in Boccaccio's stories as a social commentary of the day. Special attention is paid to the parody Boccaccio makes of religion and its rituals and rules.

From the Paper
"As with many works of literature such as Catcher in the Rye, Grapes of Wrath, and The Odyssey, Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron is as controversial as the work is praised. Boccaccio's work is filled with characters with debatable moral compasses and uncontrollable sex drives in compromising situations which have undoubtedly offended masses while at the same time entertained them as well. Certainly those of faith who believe God rewards or punishes based on the actions of people would be horrified after reading Boccaccio's hundred tales, most of which feature no unfavorable repercussions of what the church's leaders would deem immoral. Two perfect examples of this lack of consequences for the debauched characters are stories of Masetto and Rustico from the third day. In these two stories from the third day, Boccaccio both notes the blatant hypocrisy of the holy men and women while allowing the characters to receive no punishment for impure acts because of his desire to poke fun at the church and society instead of inciting social change."

Tags:sexual, religion, rites, rules

Abstract
This paper demonstrates Dante's and Boccaccio's opposing views concerning whether the importance of God's divine justice outweighs the innate human qualities present in all peoples. Using the example of how each portrays members of the clergy in their works, Dante's preference of divine justice emerges, as does Boccaccio's preference of human nature.

From the Paper
"Dante and Boccaccio disagree on the issue of divine justice versus human nature. In The Divine Comedy: Inferno, Dante employs Fortune to prove the importance of divine justice. As a creation of God, Fortune operates strictly within the will of God, enhancing Dante's depiction of God's omnipotence. Dante also illustrates the importance of God's divine justice through the various people the pilgrim meets in the circles of the Inferno, specifically members of the clergy. In sentencing these men to hell, Dante demonstrates the fair and impartial manner in which God judges all people. He points out that God does not favor the clergymen because of their church titles, but judges all people according to the same moral and religious standards. Boccaccio, on the other hand, utilizes the same constructions in The Decameron, but uses them to contradict the previously accepted philosophies set forth in the Inferno. Boccaccio presents Fortune as God's enemy, a power that provides earth with more than it needs."

Tags:boccaccio, church, clergy, corruption, dante, god, inferno, decameron

Abstract
For the Victorians, poetry was a vibrant expression of the era's values and its fears. The paper analyzes two poems from the Victorian period which reflect these values. The first shows the era's intense occupation with status and social hierarchy in Robert Browning's "The Bishop Orders His Tomb at Saint Praxed's Church". The poem demonstrates how this obsession with people's position in the world merged into an obsession with death and the dead, with death as a force that erased the status that people strove so hard to create and uphold in life. The second paper analyzed in this paper is Dante Gabriel Rossetti's "Jenny", in which we see how the notions of status and propriety that governed Victorian life and death created such a terrible psychological pressure on the Victorians that they had at times to escape into lascivious fantasy.

From the Paper
"The contrast is not simply that, however, of the upright and virtuous life against the scandalous and criminal one (for Rossetti makes it clear in the opening lines that Jenny is a prostitute) but that between male and female worlds. Life for the Victorians was divided into strictly separated spheres: The worlds of men and women touching upon each other barely more than the worlds of life and death. This poem is in part an expression of regret at this latter divide."

Tags:sexuality, traditional

Abstract
This paper looks at the book, "The Cheese and the Worms " by Carlo Ginzburg. Discussing how the author has used his research to find and discuss the main character, Menocchio. The paper also gives a precise critique of the book and then systemic ways that Ginzburg has emitted or over looked facts by ways of his research.

Abstract
The following paper examines the novel, 'The Leopard' , a story that takes place in the backdrop of the Italian Revolution of the 1860's highlighting the views of the aristocratic class at the time when the demise of the monarchy was imminent. Concepts such as monarchies, elite feudalism, the industrial revolution and Nationalism are discussed. The way in which the critics reviewed this novel, which was published in 1958, is also discussed.

From the Paper
"The Leopard was written by Giuseppe Di Lampedusa much before his death but was published posthumously in 1958. The first English translation of the book appeared in 1960 after which it gained worldwide fame and became one of the very few novels from Italy to reach such heights of recognition. Lampedusa was praised for his intelligent writing style, his vivid imagination and his good command over the Italian history. But the last part was not exactly difficult for the man who himself was a prince and has based the story on his own experiences and observations. The story takes place in 1860 Italy when unification was taking place and this meant end to a long dynasty of monarchs. The society was rapidly changing and this led to the demise of aristocracy in Italy."

Tags:italy, elite, revolution, tyrant, aristocracy, traditional, nationalism, 1860

From the Paper
"This paper will discuss Italo Calvino's book Marcovaldo, or The Seasons in the City. This book is a collection of twenty short stories, all of which depict events in the life of the title character, Marcovaldo. The stories are placed within the book in a seasonal order; in other words, the first story takes place in Spring, the second in Summer, and so on, consecutively. This gives the effect of the reader experiencing a span of several years duration in the life of Marcovaldo.


Marcovaldo is a poor workman living in an industrial city in northern Italy during the 1950's and '60's. Although he is a factory worker in an urban area, Marcovaldo "possessed an eye ill-suited to city life," and is always noticing the signs of..."

Abstract
There are several different 'worlds of books' within 'The Name of the Rose'. The novel itself is a world of books, containing subtle and obvious references to scores of other literary works. Within that is the Medieval world the novel is set in, where books were a measure of wealth. Within this world is the monastery - another world filled with books, and within this is the library containing books from around the world. This paper attempts to unravel this bewildering array of books within books and worlds within worlds.

From the Paper
"First, it is important to ascertain just what is meant by the phrase "world of books" with regards to the novel The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. There are several ways in which The Name of the Rose could be seen to contain the theme "the world of books," and it is worth looking at all of them to see how cleverly Eco has incorporated this concept into the narrative at many different levels. The Name of the Rose itself could be seen as a "world of books" in its own right, as it is a novel written almost entirely from other books. Eco declared that The Name of the Rose was his attempt to write nothing original, but a book written entirely from texts already in existence. Another kind of "world of books" is the medieval world where the story is set. In this world, books were the treasured property of an elite few, mainly the rich and the clergy, the only people who could afford books (all being handwritten with exquisite care) or indeed, read them. The possession of books denoted wealth, intelligence and status. The more books a man owned the more respected he would be. Monasteries were the places where most books were produced, and although the novel is set in a monastery because Eco "felt like poisoning a monk" (Reflections on The Name of the Rose, p.13) this setting allowed Eco to present another kind of "world of books," a monastery, where books were of great importance. The monastery is a place where books are constantly spoken of, and sought for, read and reproduced. Within the monastery itself, is yet another world of books, the library. Within its labyrinth of passages is held tremendous knowledge from all over the world. However, not only does the library contain answers to life in general, it also holds the key to all the mysterious happenings in the monastery itself."

Tags:adso, baskerville, monastery, monks, murder, mystery, umberto, william