THE FEIGNING VOICE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF NARRATIVE INTENTION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF STYLE IN THE RENAISSANCE NOVELLA

This study examines stylistic development and authorial intention in the Renaissance novella by focusing on five tales narrated by late medieval and Renaissance novellieri. While much has been written about the Renaissance novella, no full-length study demonstrates how the genre developed. This examination lessens the research gap by providing a historical-literary perspective from which to view the progress of the genre.;In addition to offering close readings, the study describes and discusses thematic and formal novellistic elements as defining characteristics of the genre. By examining both stylistic variations demonstrated by the redactions and the curious way authorial choices sometimes seem circumscribed, the study offers a generic description that takes into account previously neglected aspects of the novella. It shows that the novella is characterized by its interest in the effects of desirous relationships, both literary and extraliterary, and that it explores different avenues of social exchange through which desire is articulated. The conclusion encapsulates distinguishing generic features noted by other readers and offers a "working definition" of the novella that is accurate while retaining the adaptability the novella characteristically demands of its readers.;Each chapter traces appearances of a tale in Latin, Italian, French and English; redactions are compared and contrasted to examine issues and problems faced by the novellieri and to demonstrate how these authors articulated and addressed their concerns. The novellas selected are representative since they contain topoi which recur throughout novella literature; they thematize social and personal problems resulting from desire and reveal complex relationships between the narrative process and the subject(s) of narration. The selection allows for a sampling of the enormous novella corpus treating both prominent novellists and less widely read figures. Consequently, although the study focuses on only twenty-four individual novelle, it embraces a wide range of authorial influence and geographic, temporal, and linguistic variation.