It is telling that Boccaccio chose to ponder the possibilities of love, with a society fearful of the plague and death all around him, rather than write an epic tragedy! The work is framed as a production of the young -- not the elder leaders of society -- and Boccaccio seems to locate hope in youthful social interaction and play, and sex. Or is it just a way of sticking one's head in the sand? Or is Boccaccio suggesting something about how recreation is a kind of re-creation that is needed when outrageous tragic forces threaten human flourishing?