Il Filostrato

Boccaccio's 'Il Filostrato' is a narrative poem recounting the love story of Troilus and Criseyde, composed in Italian and serving as a primary source for Chaucer's 'Troilus and Criseyde.

' The work blends courtly love conventions with psychological insight into desire and sorrow, and Boccaccio's version portrays Criseyde in a particular light that Chaucer later reinterprets.

Chaucer's adaptation transforms the source material to explore interiority and the constrained options of his heroine, granting greater nuance and sympathy.

'Il Filostrato' exemplifies the cross-cultural literary exchanges between Italy and England in the fourteenth century.

Boccaccio's influence was pivotal in shaping Chaucer's narrative technique and interest in character complexity.