Camilo Castelo Branco

Main masterpieces:   

• Anátema (1851)
• Mistérios de Lisboa (1854)
• Duas épocas na vida (1854)
• O livro negro do padre Dinis (1855)
• Vingança (1858)
• Carlota Ângela (1858)
• A morta (1860)
• O romance de um homem rico (1861)
• Amor de Perdição (1861)
• Coração, cabeça e estômago (1862)
• Amor de Salvação (1864)
• A Queda dum Anjo (1866)
• A Corja (1880)

Historical period in literature: 
Modern literature, Romantic period

The impact of Amor de Perdição 

The novel

Novel composed in 1861 by Camilo Castelo Branco, during the time the author was arrested for adultery in Oporto. It has been written based on an actual episode in the life of his uncle, Simão Botelho, that would have been told him by an aunt. However, Camilo’s manipulation and fiction are so free, that converted the novel into the most famous sentimental novel of Portuguese Romanticism.
The plot is ultra-romantic: the protagonists, Simão and Teresa, sons of two enemy families of Viseu, the Botelhos and Albuquerques, fall in love. On Baltasar Coutinho’s advice, cousin and promised to Teresa, Tadeu de Albuquerque decides to send the daughter to the Monchique’s convent, in Oporto. Simão is waiting for them outside Viseu, confronts Baltasar and kills him by shooting, surrendering immediately to justice. Arrested in Oporto, he is sentenced to exile.

When embarking for India, Simão can still glimpse his beloved, who says goodbye to him, almost dying, worn out by misfortune. Hours later, Simão becomes aware of the death of Teresa and dies too.

The genuine character of the novel, that breaks with romantic conventionality, is, however, Mariana, a good and selfless girl, who, feeling an absolute love for Simão and hopeless, acts as intermediary between Simão and Teresa, deciding to join him in exile and kill herself after his death, embracing his dead body thrown overboard.

Besides the passionate and tragic story, where love, hate and revenge, in its many nuances appear, according to some scholars Camilo also intended to do a social criticism, namely report the society’s blind obedience to the obsolete prejudice of family honor.

The movie

Amor de Perdição has been adapted in 1978 into a movie directed by Manoel de Oliveira, who won the Jury's Special Award at the Festival of Figueira da Foz.

Main cast was composed of: Adelaide João; António Sequeira Lopes; Cristina Hauser; Elsa Wallencamp; Duarte de Almeida; Henrique Viana; Lia Gama; Manuela de Freitas; Ruy Furtado.

Pedro Bandeira Freire and Manoel de Oliveira and an excerpt. 

Prod. CPC – Centro Português do Cinema, 1978

  

Consulted sources:  

Portal da Literatura Portuguesa
infopédia_CamiloCasteloBranco 
lithis

Alexandre Herculano

Main masterpieces:   

• Eurico, o Presbítero (1844)
• História de Portugal (1845-53)
• História da origem e estabelecimento da Inquisição em Portugal (1854-59)

Historical period in literature: 

Modern literature, Romantic period

 

Consulted sources:  

Portal da Literatura Portuguesa
infopédia_AlexandreHerculano 
lithis

Almeida Garrett

Main masterpieces:   

• Camões (1825)
• D. Branca (1826)
• Um Auto de Gil Vicente (1838)
• O Alfageme de Santarém (1841)
• Frei Luís de Sousa (1844)
• O Arco de  Sant'Ana (1845)
• Viagens na Minha Terra (1846)
• Folhas Caídas (1853)

Historical period in literature: 

Modern literature, Romantic period

 

Combining literature with politics

Initiator of Romanticism, refounder of Portuguese theater, creator of modern lyricism, creator of modern prose, journalist, politician, legislator, Garrett is a real example of the inseparable alliance between political man and writer, citizen and poet.

Enthusiastic supporter of Liberalism that in the nineteenth century radically transforms the Portuguese society, Garrett was a Portuguese interventive in various facets of life.

He is considered by many authors as the most complete Portuguese writer of the nineteenth century, since he left us masterpieces in poetry, drama and prose, innovating writing and composition in each of these literary genres.

Garrett was also the major driving force of the theater in Portugal from Romanticism. It was he who proposed the building of the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II and the establishment of the Conservatory. The situation of theater in the country has been radically altered by the presence of Garrett. He managed to change the foundations of the theater which began to be associated with the concerns of a society better and better literate and attentive.

Literary work rich in different genres

Camões is a poem written in 1825 which is attributed to the beginning of Portuguese Romanticism.

Although scarce, the novelistic work of Garrett stands out for the originality. As Viagens na Minha Terra can be considered the first Portuguese modern narrative using an informal style, in permanent dialogue with the reader, the author presents in the manner of Stern, a masterpiece of intellectual irony; under the pretext of a travel’s chronic, offers a comprehensive and lucid representation of the actual time.  

Frei Luís de Sousa is the largest Portuguese romantic drama, written by Garrett and one of the best plays of Portuguese literature. It was first performed in 1843 and published in the following year.

Folhas Caídas is the last and most important work of Garrett, published anonymously in 1835, and the best work of Portuguese Romantic poetry.

Consulted sources:  

Portal da Literatura Portuguesa
infopédia_Garrett 
lithis

Luís António Verney

Main masterpiece:   

• Verdadeiro Método de Estudar (1746)

Historical period in literature: 

Classical literature, Neoclassic period

 

Consulted sources:  

Portal da Literatura Portuguesa
infopédia_LuísAntónioVerney

Padre António Vieira

Main masterpieces:   

• Sermão de Santo António aos Peixes (1654)
• Sermão da Sexagésima (1655)
• Sermão da Quinta Dominga da Quaresma (1654)
• Sermão do Bom Ladrão (1655)
• Sermão do Mandato (1655)
• Sermão Pelo Bom Sucesso das Armas de Portugal, contra as da Holanda (1640)

Historical period in literature: 

Classical literature, Baroque period

 

The author's prose

Padre António Vieira’s prose is seen as a model of vigorous and logical style, where the syntactical construction rises above the baroque virtuosity. His wealth and verbal properties, the paradoxes and persuasive effects that even today influence the reader, the seduction of his arguments, sometimes the combative tone, and also certain ironic subtleties, made remarkable his art.

Sermão de Santo António aos Peixes

 

Following disputes with the Portuguese settlers in Brazil, the Sermão de Santo António aos Peixes is an amazing document of the imagination, oratorical skill and satirical power of the author, who takes several fishes as symbols of the vices of those settlers. With a remarkable literary construction and argumentative, the sermon aims to praise some human virtues, but especially to harshly criticize the vices of the settlers.

Consulted sources:  

Portal da Literatura Portuguesa
infopédia_PadreAntónioVieira 
lithis

Luís de Camões

Main masterpieces:   

• Rimas (1572, lyric work)
• Os Lusíadas (1572, epic poetry)

Historical period in literature: 

Classical literature, period of Renaissance, Humanism, Classicism

 

The lyric work

Rimas is the name of the lyric work of Camões.

The lyric is self-confessional and love is always the driving force for the improvement of the poet. Love is consolidated in a luminous image of a woman. Os Lusíadas are narrative and allegory, following a particular path reaches the divinity, the woman, in contrast the lyric never gets there but only reaches the final meeting of the spirit. The lyric as a discourse of the self is much more intimate and confessional regarding the epic poetry. Therefore the construction possibility is not as utopian and far as the lyric.

 

Os Lusíadas, the epic poetry

Famous epic poem by Luís de Camões, published in 1572, which, narrating the sea route to the East by Vasco da Gama, closes a summary of the homeland history.

The dream of every poet of the sixteenth century was the creation of an epic poetry, imitating Homer and Virgil. Matter of national interest and even universal wasn’t missing: the Portuguese Discoveries. It was mandatory to immortalize them.

The central event of the work is the discovery of sea route to India. For his literary treatment, Camões invented a mythological fable where gods, like if they were humans, come into conflict due to the voyage of Vasco da Gama. It generates a real intrigue at the end of which men are mythicized. At the same time, glories of nationality are evoked, with admirable skill.

For a long time the mystifying function of the pagan mythology hadn’t been understood and the poet was even criticized. Today however it is understood that it is in large part due to its presence that depends the narrative cohesion and at the same time the diversity, life and creativity present in the work.

Camões Square in Lisbon, a place of tradition and culture

Statue built in the late romanticism. The Monument to Camões was inaugurated in June 1867. It stands out the figure of Camões, with four meters, based on an octagonal pedestal, surrounded by eight statues represented by notable figures of culture and literature: Pedro Nunes, Fernão Lopes, Azurara, Castanheda, João de Barros, Sá Menezes, Jerónimo Corte-Real and Vasco Quevedo Castello-Branco.

This is a meeting place between Bairro Alto and Chiado.

Portugal Day

On the 10th June Portugal celebrates annually the Portugal Day that is also the date that commemorates the death of Camões.

Consulted sources:  

Portal da Literatura Portuguesa
infopédia_LuísCamões
lithis

Damião de Góis

Main masterpieces written in Latin:    

• Legatio Magni Indorum Presbyteri Joannis (1532)
• Fides, Religio, Moresque Aethiopium (1540)
• Aliquot Opuscula (1544)
• Comentarii Rerum Gestarum in India, Citra Gangem a Lusitanis Anno 1538 (1539)
• Urbis Lovaniensis Obsidio (1546)
• De Bello Cambaico Ultimo (1549)
• Urbis Olisiponis Descriptio (1554)

Main masterpieces written in Portuguese:   

• Crónica do Felicíssimo rei D. Manuel (1566-67)
• Crónica do Príncipe D. João (1567)

Historical period in literature: 

Classical literature, period of Renaissance, Humanism, Classicism

 

Consulted sources:  

Portal da Literatura Portuguesa
infopédia_DamiãoGóis 
Vidas_Lusófonas_DamiãoGóis

Bernardim Ribeiro

 

Main masterpiece:   Menina e Moça

 

Historical period in literature: 

Classical literature, period of Renaissance, Humanism, Classicism

 

Menina e Moça, published three times in the sixteenth century: 1554 (Ferrara, under the title História de Menina e Moça), 1557-58 (Évora, entitled Saudades) and 1559 (Cologne, from the first edition), including the second edition an extension, what is generally accepted as being from the author.

The text represents a convergence of fictional topics, whether in terms of literary history (adding ingredients of the novel of chivalry, the pastoral novel and the sentimental novel), both in terms of content (by conversion to a meeting place, feminine and lamentable, of the Girl – who begins the book with a evocation monologue of movement and change of life – with a Lady, with whom she discusses stories of unhappy love affairs, which are inserted in the central action of fiction).

Love, nature, change and distance are the constant subject matters of this book, the first in Portuguese literature to come loose of the conventions of the coeval fiction to assume the status of feminine narrative of loneliness and yearning.

Consulted sources:  

Portal da Literatura Portuguesa
infopédia_BernardimRibeiro
lithis