Giovanni francesco straparola biography of michael
Giovanni Francesco Straparola
Italian writer and fairy tale collector
Giovanni Francesco "Gianfrancesco" Straparola, also known as Zoan or Zuan Francesco Straparola da Caravaggio (ca. –), was an Italian writer of poetry, and collector and writer of short stories.
Some time during his life, he migrated from Caravaggio to Venice where he published a collection of stories in two volumes called The Facetious Nights or The Pleasant Nights. This collection includes some of the first known printed versions of fairy tales in Europe, as they are known today.
Biography
Life
Not much is known of Straparola's life except for a few facts regarding his published works.
He was likely born some time around in Caravaggio, Italy (on the Lombard plain east of Milan).
Giovanni Francesco Straparola – Wikipedia tiếng Việt: His Piacevoli notti 2 vol. Forgot password? Strangers on a Train. Download as PDF Printable version.
However, nothing more is known of his life until when he was found to be in Venice where he signed his name "Zoan" on the title page of his Opera nova de Zoan Francesco Straparola da Caravaggio novamente stampata (New Works).
Prior to issuing the first volume of The Pleasant Nights, Straparola obtained permission to publish from the Venetian authorities on March 8, , though the name on the permission reads "Zuan Francesco Sstraparola da Caravaggio."
Straparola was said to have died in But his death may have occurred earlier as after the or print run, the woodcut portrait of the author disappeared from the work as well as the words "All’instanza dall’autore" (at the behest of the author), the printer being Comin da Trino, Venice.
This possibly could put Straparola's death prior to (Bottigheimer suggests due to the plague at that time, and in some city other than Venice as his death is not recorded in the death records of Venice in the s or early s.
As a lettered man not native to Venice, Straparola may have held the position of teacher, private secretary, or a type of ‘ghost writer’ for a patron.
Name
The name "Straparola" is unlikely to be Giovanni Francesco's real name.
Bottigheimer suggests "Straparola" is a nickname derived from the Italian verb straparlare, meaning "to talk too much" or "to talk nonsense". Zipes has the name meaning "loquacious". The use of a nickname is understandable as the publishing of satirical writings in sixteenth-century Venice often held personal danger for the author.
Writings
New Works
In Venice in , Straparola published his Opera nova de Zoan Francesco Straparola da Caravazo novamente stampata (New Works), which contained sonnets, strambotti (satirical verse), epistre (epistles), and capitoli (satirical poetry).
It was reprinted in
The Facetious Nights
In , also in Venice, Straparola published the first volume of his Le Piacevoli Notti Di M. Giovanfrancesco Straparola da Caravaggio, which is often translated as The Pleasant Nights or The Facetious Nights, the second volume of this work appearing in
The Pleasant Nights is the work for which Straparola is most noted, and which contains a total of seventy-five short stories, fables, and fairy tales (Straparola , vol.1 has 25; vol.
2 has 50). The tales, or novelle, are divided into Nights, rather than chapters, and resemble the type of narrative presentation found in Boccaccio'sDecameron (–52). This presentation is of a gathering of Italian aristocrats, men and women, who entertain themselves by singing songs, dancing, and telling stories, The Pleasant Nights having added enigmas (riddles).
[Compare Boccaccio with Straparola ]
One story in the second book of The Pleasant Nights, "The Tailor's Apprentice" or "Maestro Lattantio and His Apprentice Dionigi" (Straparola vol. 2, –), was removed a few years after first appearing in the second volume due to Church influence, while the entire collection entered a number of Indexes of prohibited books between and
It is claimed that many of the stories in The Pleasant Nights had been taken from earlier works, specifically from Girolamo Morlini, a 15th/16th century lawyer from Naples whose Novellae, fabulae, comoedia appeared in Today, in at least one instance, the name of Girolamo Morlini has been associated in print with The Facetious Nights.
If taken at his word, Straparola never denied this.
In the Dedication at the front of the second volume, Straparola wrote that the stories ". . . written and collected in this volume [vol. 2 only?] are none of mine, but goods which I have feloniously taken from this man and that. Of a truth I confess they are not mine, and if I said otherwise I should lie, but nevertheless I have faithfully set them down according to the manner in which they were told by the ladies, nobles, learned men and gentlemen who gathered together for recreation." Zipes even mentioned at one time that "Straparola was not an original writer." It was often the case in Renaissance Italy that the use of the "frame tale" allowed an author to dodge some of the criticism for printing stories from other writers by disclaiming original authorship, saying they only wrote down what they heard.
Though this Dedication is signed "From Giovanni Francesco Straparola," Bottigheimer suggests that changes in narrative style between volume 1 and 2, both within the stories themselves and the frame tale, imply that someone other than Straparola could have worked on or finished the second volume, taking some of the stories at random from Morlini's Novellea.
Fairy tales
Straparola's Pleasant Nights is the first known work where fairy tales as they are known today appeared in print.
Biography of michael jackson The "rise" plot takes a poor person—man or woman, girl or boy—and through the use of magic they obtain a marriage that leads to wealth: "rags-magic-marriage-riches". It was reprinted in Strashun, Mathias. Prior to issuing the first volume of The Pleasant Nights , Straparola obtained permission to publish from the Venetian authorities on March 8, , though the name on the permission reads "Zuan Francesco Sstraparola da Caravaggio.Zipes lists these as being:
- "Cassandrino" ("The Master Thief") [1: 20–27]
- "Pre Scarpafico" ("The Priest Scarpafico") [1: 28–34]
- "Tebaldo" ("Doralice") [1: 35–44]
- "Galeotto" ("The Pig King" or "Prince Pig") [1: 58–66]
- "Pietro" ("Peter the Fool") [1: –]
- "Biancabella" ("Biancabella and the Snake") [1: –]
- "Fortunio" ("Fortunio and the Siren") [1: –]
- "Ricardo" ("Costanza/Costanzo") [1: –]
- "Aciolotto" ("Ancilotto, King of Provino" [?]) [1: –]
- "Guerrino" ("Guerrino and the Savage Man") [1: –]
- "I tre fratelli" ("The Three Brothers") [2: 71–74]
- "Maestro Lattantio" ("The Tailor's Apprentice" or "Maestro Lattantio and His Apprentice Dionigi") [2: –]
- "Cesarino" ("Cesarino the Dragon Slayer") [2: –]
- "Soriana" ("Costantino Fortunato") [2: –]
The numbers in brackets refers to the volume and the pages in Straparola Why "Livoretto" [1: –] and "Adamantina and the Doll" [1: –] are not included is not explained.
Invention of the rise tale
With regard to the plots used within fairy tales, it has been suggested that Straparola might have created the "rise plot" or "rise tale" often seen in fairy tales today. The "rise" plot takes a poor person—man or woman, girl or boy—and through the use of magic they obtain a marriage that leads to wealth: "rags-magic-marriage-riches".
However, this has yet to be satisfactorily established.
The stories of Straparola that can be considered ‘rise’ tales include "Peter the Fool": through the auspices of a talking fish and its magic powers, a town fool rises to be a king; "Fortunio and the Siren": an orphaned boy uses magic powers transferred to him by animals to secure a royal marriage; "Adamantina and the Doll": a magic doll aids two women in securing royal marriages; and "Costantino Fortunato": a talking cat gains marriage and wealth for her master.
Effect on later writers
Mme. de Murat (–), herself a writer of fairy tales, is noted as remarking in "that everybody, including herself, was taking their stories from ‘Straparola.’" Some of Straparola's tales or their plot elements can indeed be found in the works of later authors. Please note that these similarities alone do not confirm the claim that any of the plots or plotlines in The Pleasant Nights originated with Straparola.
Giambattista Basile's (?–) "Peruonto" and Mme d’Aulnoy's (?–) "The Dolphin," contain most of the same storyline as Straparola's "Peter the Fool", though the two former are studded with added morality: a foolish/ugly protagonist releases a fish/dolphin with magic powers that grants whatever is asked of it. (Compare Basile , 32–41 and d’Aulnoy , – with Straparola , 1: –)
Both Basile's "Cagliuso" and Charles Perrault's (–) "The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots" follow the same plotlines as Straparola's "Costantino Fortunato:" the protagonist inherits a talking cat that gains a royal marriage and wealth for her/his master.
(Compare Basile , – and Perrault , 45–57 with Straparola 2: –)
"Der Eisenhans" ("Iron Jack") in Grimm (– & –) contains the same basic plot as that of "Guerrino and the Savage Man:" the protagonist is helped in his quest(s) by a wild or savage man he sets free. (Compare Grimm , – with Straparola 1: –) The Brothers Grimm never invented fairy-tales, they exclusively collected and published folktales which had been passed on from generation to generation.
This fact indicates that "Guerrino" is one of Straparola's collected folktales rather than one of his invented literary fairy-tales.
The plot in Straparola's "Ancilotto" is followed closely, with some differing details, in "The Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and the Speaking Bird" as found in Joseph Jacobs's collection of to prevent a king from meeting with his children, they’re sent on near-impossible quests.
(Compare Straparola vol. 1: – with Jacobs , 51–) In this same collection of Jacob's is the story "The Master Thief," which follows the same plot as Straparola's "Cassandrino the Thief": a magistrate or lord has a thief prove how good he is or will be killed. (Compare Jacobs , – with Straparola 1: 20–)
Basile's ‘The Goose’ follows the same plotline as Straparola's "Adamantina and the Doll": a doll/goose that grants bounty to two poor sisters ultimately leads them to marrying royally.
(Compare Basile , – with Straparola 1: –)
Italo Calvino was inspired by Straparola in the curation of his work Fiabe italiane.
Works by Straparola
See also
References
- With citations above
- Bottigheimer, Ruth B. (). Fairy tales&#;: a new history.
Albany, N.Y.: Excelsior Editions/State University of New York Press. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
- Bottigheimer, Ruth B. (). Fairy tales framed&#;: early forewords, afterwords, and critical words. Albany. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
- Bottigheimer, Ruth B.
(). Fairy godfather&#;: Straparola, Venice, and the fairy tale tradition. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
- Straparola, Giovanni (). The Nights of Straparola. Vol.&#;1 & 2. Translated by Waters, W. G. Illustrated by E. R. Hughes. London: Lawrence and Bullen.
- Straparola, Giovanni Francesco, approximately ().
The facetious nights of Straparola. Vol.&#;1.
Whoever he was, Straparola was the first truly gifted author to write numerous fairy tales in the vernacular and cultivate a form and function for this kind of narrative to make it an acceptable genre among the educated classes in Italy and soon after in France, Germany, and England. Strashun Zaskovitzer , Samuel ben Joseph. January 8, Oxford Reference.Privately printed for members of the Society of Bibliophiles. OCLC&#;
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Zipes, Jack (). "Of Cats and Men". Canepa. pp.&#;–[full citation needed]
- Zipes, Jack (). The Oxford companion to fairy tales (Second&#;ed.). Oxford, United Kingdom.Giovanni francesco straparola biography of michael Straparola, Giovanni Francesco columbia. Name [ edit ]. The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales 2 ed. Prior to issuing the first volume of The Pleasant Nights , Straparola obtained permission to publish from the Venetian authorities on March 8, , though the name on the permission reads "Zuan Francesco Sstraparola da Caravaggio.
ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Crawshaw, Jane Stevens (). "Families, medical secrets and public health in early modern Venice". Renaissance Studies. 28 (4): – doi/rest S2CID&#;
- Francisco, Vaz Da Silva (). "The Invention of Fairy Tales".
Journal of American Folklore. (): – doi/jaf hdl/ S2CID&#;
- Without citations above
- Basile, Giambattista, approximately (). The tale of tales, or, Entertainment for little ones. Nancy L. Canepa. New York, New York. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- Boccaccio, Giovanni ().
The Decameron. Peter Bondanella, Mark Musa. New York, N.Y.: Signet Classics. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
- Canepa, Nancy L. (). Out of the woods&#;: the origins of the literary fairy tale in Italy and France. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
- d’Aulnoy, Marie-Catherine (). The Fairy Tales of Madame d'Aulnoy, newly done into English.
translated by Miss Annie Macdonell and Miss Lee, illusustrated Clinton Peters, introduction by Anne Thackeray. London: Lawrence and Bullen.
- Grimm, Jacob (). The complete Grimm's fairy tales. Wilhelm Grimm, Padraic Colum, Josef Scharl, Jacob Translation of: Grimm. New York. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
- Jacobs, Joseph ().
European Folk and Fairy Tales. New York: G. P. Putnum's Sons.
- Opie, Iona (). The classic fairy tales. Peter Opie. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
- Perrault, Charles (). The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault. illustrated by Harry Clarke, introduction by Thomas Bodkin.
London: George G. Harrap & Co, Ltd.
- Perrault, Charles (). Perrault's fairy tales. A. E. Johnson, Gustave Doré, Charles Perrault.
New York: Dover Publications. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
- Raynard, Sophie (). The teller's tale&#;: lives of the classic fairy tale writers. Albany, N.Y.: Sunny Press. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
- Sermini, Gentile; Martone, Valerie; Martone, Robert L. (). Renaissance comic tales of love, treachery, and revenge.
New York: Italica Press. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
- Ziolkowski, Jan M. (). Fairy tales from before fairy tales&#;: the medieval Latin past of wonderful lies. Ann Arbor. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
- Zipes, Jack (). The great fairy tale tradition&#;: from Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm&#;: texts, criticism.
New York: W.W. Norton.
The Brothers Grimm never invented fairy-tales, they exclusively collected and published folktales which had been passed on from generation to generation. The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales 2 ed. Read More. Your current browser may not support copying via this button.ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
- Ziolkowski, Jan M. (). "Straparola and the Fairy Tale: Between Literary and Oral Traditions". Journal of American Folklore. (): – doi/jamerfolk