Le ballate delle donne nel Decameron

This paper considers the ballads of the Decameron, examining their complex relationship with the narrative structure of the entire work. After providing a preliminary overview of the studies dedicated to this subject and the various critical approaches to date, the essay focuses on the ballads sung by the women of the brigade and the protagonists of the novellas. Recurring aspects, such as the difficulty of interpretation inherent in the poetic text, will also be considered. The last part of the paper comprises an analysis of the final ballad of the Decameron, sung by Fiammetta.