Corbaccio

Il Corbaccio, or "The Crow", is an Italian literary work by Giovanni Boccaccio, traditionally dated c. 1355.

In his dream appears a man who declares himself to be the deceased husband of the widow, who says he has come, sent by God and through the intercession of Our Lady, to free him from the labyrinth of love into which he has fallen.

Boccaccio is most famous as the author of The Decameron (completed c. 1351–2), another work of ambiguous interpretation regarding the dolce stil novo and the antifeminist counter argument.

Regarding Il Corbaccio, whether the novel's theme of misogyny is a detailed study of the attitude or a direct misogynistic expression of the author has long been a subject of debate.

As stated by scholar Anthony K. Cassell, "the formal elements of the treatise are part of a wide artistic tradition and contest autobiographical intention and interpretation".