Portuguese poetry
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Portuguese poetry refers to diverse kinds of poetic writings produced in
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
. The article covers historical accounts of
poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...
from other countries where Portuguese or variations of the language are spoken. The article covers Portuguese poetry produced from the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
(12th century) to the present era. (21st Century.)


History


Middle Ages

The beginnings of
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
poetry go back to the early 12th century, around the time when the
County of Portugal The County of Portugal ( pt, Condado de Portugal, Condado Portucalense, Condado de Portucale; in documents of the period the name used was Portugalia) refers to two successive medieval counties in the region around Braga and Porto, today corres ...
separated from the medieval
Kingdom of Galicia The Kingdom of Galicia ( gl, Reino de Galicia, or ''Galiza''; es, Reino de Galicia; pt, Reino da Galiza; la, Galliciense Regnum) was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire north ...
in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. It was in this region that the ancestral language of both modern Portuguese and modern Galician, known today as
Galician-Portuguese Galician-Portuguese ( gl, galego-portugués or ', pt, galego-português or ), also known as Old Portuguese or as Medieval Galician when referring to the history of each modern language, was a West Iberian Romance language spoken in the Middle ...
, was the common language of the people. Like the
troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a '' trobair ...
culture in the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
and the rest of
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, Galician-Portuguese poets sang the love for a woman, which often turned into personal insults, as she had hurt her lover's pride. However, this region produced a specific type of song, known as '' cantigas de amigo'' (songs of a friend). In these, the lyrical subject is always a woman (though the singer was male) talking about her friend (lover) from whom she has been separated - by war or other activities - as shown in the
Reconquista The ' ( Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the N ...
. They discuss the loneliness that the woman feels. But some poems also project eroticism, or confess the lover's meeting in a secret place, often through a dialogue she has with her mother or with natural elements (such could be considered a custom adapted from the pagan peoples in the region). Epic poetry was also produced, as was common in Romantic medieval regions (''Gesta de D. Afonso Henriques'', of unknown authorship). With the Portuguese expansion south, poetry preserved some of these main characteristics - ''cantigas de amigo'' were written even by kings, like
Denis of Portugal Denis (, ; 9 October 1261 – 7 January 1325 in Santarém), called the Farmer King (''Rei Lavrador'') and the Poet King (''Rei Poeta''), was King of Portugal. The eldest son of Afonso III of Portugal by his second wife, Beatrice of Castile, and ...
.


Renaissance

But it was with the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
that poets embarked on a new age of
literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...
due to influences from
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
and the peculiar experience of the
Portuguese discoveries Portuguese maritime exploration resulted in the numerous territories and maritime routes recorded by the Portuguese as a result of their intensive maritime journeys during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of Eu ...
.
Sá de Miranda Sá is a Portuguese, Spanish and Sephardic Jewish surname. It has a high incidence in Portuguese-speaking countries, such as Portugal, Brazil and Angola. It is still very common in countries like India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Nigeria, South Korea, Sau ...
(1481–1558) introduced the sonnet, which became, until today, a very common form. But his lyrical works (he also wrote plays) never abandoned traditional forms. He displays a certain antipathy to rapid changes in social structure and values.
Bernardim Ribeiro Bernardim Ribeiro (1482October 1552) was a Renaissance Portuguese poet and writer. Early life Ribeiro was a native of Torrão in the Alentejo. His father, Damião Ribeiro, was implicated in a conspiracy against King John II in 1484, and had to ...
(1482?–1536?) made use of bucolic poetry, singing about love fatalistically (he is more renowned, however, for his prose work ''Menina e Moça''). In the next generation, António Ferreira (1528–1569), making a wide use of classical forms, expresses the same antipathy related to the detriment of society, but with a pedagogical purpose. This was also the time of
António Gonçalves de Bandarra António Gonçalves Annes Bandarra or Gonçalo Annes Bandarra (1500 – 1556) was a Portuguese writer. Life and work He was a shoemaker by trade (born rich but lost his wealth). Whether he had Jewish origin or not has been the subject of muc ...
(1500–1566), a cobbler who learned to read despite his low social status, and who read the Bible. His songs can be considered the birth of
sebastianism Sebastianism () is a Portuguese messianic myth, based on the belief that King Sebastian of Portugal, who disappeared in the battle of Alcácer Quibir, would reappear and return to Portugal at some, critical, point in the future. The belief gain ...
, a central theme of Portuguese culture. The Portuguese expansion also gave birth to epic poetry.
Jerónimo Corte-Real Jerónimo Corte-Real (1533–1588) was a Portuguese epic poet, who was of noble Portuguese stock. He is sometimes regarded as the Portuguese Virgil. Life Jerónimo was born in the Azores; from the same Corte-Real family as Gaspar Corte-Real, wh ...
, with his ''O Segundo Cerco de Diu'' (The Second Siege of Diu) should be mentioned, but his classic influence is not well defined. But the great poet, both of lyric and epic, is, unquestionably,
Luís de Camões Luís Vaz de Camões (; sometimes rendered in English as Camoens or Camoëns, ; c. 1524 or 1525 – 10 June 1580) is considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of Shakespear ...
(1525?-1580). He talks about love, the passing of time and world's agitation, using a fine formal dominion, expressing his duality in relation to a
plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
nic view of the world, and a skepticism regarding injustice, the passing of time and the complexity of love. He wrote what is considered the most important poem of Portuguese Literature, ''
Os Lusíadas ''Os Lusíadas'' (), usually translated as ''The Lusiads'', is a Portuguese epic poem written by Luís Vaz de Camões ( – 1580) and first published in 1572. It is widely regarded as the most important work of Portuguese-language literature ...
'' (The Lusiads), singing the maritime voyage of
Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link ...
from
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...
to
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
. The duality between man and the divine, awareness of the importance of the Portuguese discoveries to the formation of modern world,
history of Portugal The history of Portugal can be traced from circa 400,000 years ago, when the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Homo heidelbergensis. The Roman invasion in the 3rd century BC lasted several centuries, and developed the Roman provin ...
, the notion of Portugal's social and ideological problems, belief in the evolution on mankind, this is all among the poem's verses. After this period of national pride, the dark years of the
Philippine Dynasty The Philippine dynasty ( pt, dinastia filipina), also known as the House of Habsburg in Portugal, was the third royal house of Portugal. It was named after the three Habsburg Spanish kings, all named Philip (; , ), who ruled Portugal between 1 ...
saw a continuation of epic production, which, however, did not equal Camões. Poems from this era may be seen as a resistance to foreign domination. Significant authors include: Luís Brandão (''Elegíaca''), Rodrigues Lobo (''Condestrabre''), Vasco Mouzinho de Quevedo (''Afonso Africano''), Sá de Meneses (''Malaca Conquistada''), Gabriel de Castro (''Ulisseia''), António Macedo (''Ulissipo''). Such epic cycle ended with the poem ''Viriato Trágico'', by Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas, who fought in the
Portuguese Restoration War The Portuguese Restoration War ( pt, Guerra da Restauração) was the war between Portugal and Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, bringing a formal end to the Iberian Union. The ...
. In the 17th century, poets had their liberty constrained by the
Portuguese Inquisition The Portuguese Inquisition ( Portuguese: ''Inquisição Portuguesa''), officially known as the General Council of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Portugal, was formally established in Portugal in 1536 at the request of its king, John III. ...
. Among other factors, one could see this period as a decline on Portuguese poetry, where the lack of autonomy and subjects is noted. This may well be seen as a crisis of Portuguese identity in a world to which they do not seem to have adapted. Such crisis was transferred, in the 17th century, to the Arcádia Lusitânia. This academy made the transition, through Manuel du Bocage (1765–1805), to
Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
.


Romantism

But only with
Almeida Garrett João Baptista da Silva Leitão de Almeida Garrett, 1st Viscount of Almeida Garrett (; 4 February 1799 – 9 December 1854) was a Portuguese poet, orator, playwright, novelist, journalist, politician, and a peer of the realm. A major promoter of t ...
(1799–1854), with his poem ''Camões'', can we consider that
Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
, and its following consequences, became established in Portugal. Crises made national cultural factors collapse: romantic nostalgia was applied to Portuguese decline, the rest of Europe being considered the real focus of civilization. This complex of inferiority (which did not abolish a complex of superiority) became extremely incisive with the Realistic generation, the ''Geração de 70''. In poetry,
Antero de Quental Antero Tarquínio do Quental (; old spelling ''Anthero'') (18 April 184211 September 1891) was a Portuguese poet, philosopher, and writer. Do Quental is regarded as one of the greatest poets of his generation and is recognized as one of the most i ...
(1842–1891) was one of the most remarkable Portuguese poets of the 19th century – he introduced what can be considered as philosophical poetry, which expresses sadness and horror due to a lack of sense in life (leading him to commit suicide).
Guerra Junqueiro Abílio Manuel Guerra Junqueiro (, 17 September 1850 – 7 July 1923) was a Portuguese top civil servant, member of the Portuguese House of Representatives, journalist, author, and poet. His work helped inspire the creation of the Portuguese First ...
(1850–1923) and João de Deus (1830–1896) should also be considered in this period. In the symbolist movement, a major figure was Camilo Pessanha (1867–1926). His works reflects his journey to
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
. Related to impressionism,
Cesário Verde Cesário Verde (25 February 1855 – 19 July 1886) was a 19th-century Portugal, Portuguese poet. His work, while mostly ignored during his lifetime and not well known outside of the country's borders even today, is generally considered to be amon ...
(1855–1886) was ignored during his short life by literary circles. '' O Sentimento de um Ocidental'' ("The Feeling of a Westerner") is his masterpiece, in which the poet describes a night in the streets of Lisbon with his ''absurda necessidade de sofrer'' (absurd need for suffering). This moment was brief, nevertheless, and
Modernism Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...
was about to come.


Modernism

Mystical poetry included
Teixeira de Pascoaes Joaquim Pereira Teixeira de Vasconcelos (2 November 1877, Amarante Municipality, Portugal - 14 December 1952, Gatão, Portugal), better known by his pen name Teixeira de Pascoaes, was a Portuguese poet. He was nominated five times for the Nobe ...
(1877–1952) as an example and
Futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects suc ...
included
Mário de Sá-Carneiro Mário de Sá-Carneiro (; May 19, 1890 – April 26, 1916) was a Portuguese poet and writer. He is one of the best known authors of the " Geração D'Orpheu", and is usually considered their greatest poet, after Fernando Pessoa. Life Már ...
. Modernism was also responsible for the liberation of the complexity of the Portuguese view of themselves (at least in regard to poetry), mainly thanks to
Fernando Pessoa Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa (; 13 June 1888 – 30 November 1935) was a Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher, and philosopher, described as one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th century and ...
(1888–1935), the second great Portuguese poet. He had a unique and complex personality, and he wrote under many names, not pseudonyms, but what he named as heteronyms: each heteronym had its own personality, way of writing and biography. The most renowned are: Alberto Caeiro, considered the master of them all, positivist and bucolic, Ricardo Reis, pagan and epicurist (but with stoical influence),
Fernando Pessoa Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa (; 13 June 1888 – 30 November 1935) was a Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher, and philosopher, described as one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th century and ...
's autonym, trapped in his interior labyrinth and tedium,
Álvaro de Campos Álvaro de Campos (; October 15, 1890 – November 30, 1935) was one of the poet Fernando Pessoa's various heteronyms, widely known by his powerful and wrathful writing style. According to his author, this ''alter ego'' was born in Tavira, Portu ...
, futurist, and Bernardo Soares, who wrote ''Livro do Desassosego'' (Book of Disquiet).
Fernando Pessoa Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa (; 13 June 1888 – 30 November 1935) was a Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher, and philosopher, described as one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th century and ...
''Mensagem'' (Message) is a sebastianist poem formed of a series of smaller ones. The Portuguese cultural handicap, with its interior antagonisms and non adapted presence in the modern world, appear questioned and dealt with according to the Portuguese feeling of existence and life. Later on, through the 20th century, despite living under a dictatorship, Portuguese poets were able to use Pessoa's legacy to create a corpus of diverse poetic expression. Some names to be mentioned are:
Miguel Torga Miguel Torga (), pseudonym of Adolfo Correia da Rocha ( São Martinho de Anta, Sabrosa, Vila Real district, 12 August 1907 – Coimbra, 17 January 1995), is considered one of the greatest Portuguese writers of the 20th century. He wrote poe ...
,
José Régio José Maria dos Reis Pereira, better known by the pen name José Régio (17 September 1901, Vila do Conde – 22 December 1969, Vila do Conde), was a Portuguese writer who spent most of his life in Portalegre (1929 to 1962). He was the brother ...
,
Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen (6 November 1919 – 2 July 2004) was a Portuguese poet and writer. Her remains have been entombed in the National Pantheon since 2014. Life and career Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen was born on 6 November ...
,
Eugénio de Andrade Eugénio de Andrade was the pseudonym of GOSE, GCM José Fontinhas (19 January 1923 – 13 June 2005),His baptismal date reads 1 February 1923, however, every biographic book and the Eugénio de Andrade Foundation state 19 January 1923 Portu ...
,
Florbela Espanca Florbela Espanca (; born , ) was a Portuguese poet. She is known for her passionate and feminist poetry. Fernando Pessoa later said she was his "twin soul". Early life Born Flor Bela d'Alma da Conceição on 8 December 1894 in Vila Viçosa, ...
, António Gedeão and
Herberto Hélder Herberto Helder de Oliveira (Funchal, São Pedro, 23 November 1930 – Cascais, 23 March 2015) was a Portuguese poet often considered the most important Portuguese poet of the second half of the 20th century. Biography Herberto Helder was b ...
.


Late 20th and 21st century

Prior to the
Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...
in 1974, many poets and lyricists created works known as
revolutionary song Revolutionary songs are political songs that advocate or praise revolutions. They are used to boost morale, as well as for political propaganda or agitation. Amongst the most well-known revolutionary songs are "La Marseillaise" and "The Internatio ...
s. Composers who represented the spirit of the revolution include Zeca Afonso and Sérgio Godinho; and poets who are considered influential for their revolutionary works include
Ary dos Santos José Carlos Ary dos Santos, GCIH or just Ary dos Santos ( Lisboa, December 7, 1936 – Lisboa, January 18, 1984) was one of the most relevant names of the Portuguese popular poetry of the 20th century. Born of a bourgeois family, Ary dos Sa ...
and
Manuel Alegre Manuel Alegre de Melo Duarte, GCL (born 12 May 1936) is a Portuguese poet and politician, member of the Socialist Party, and a candidate for the 2006 Portuguese presidential election. He ran again in the 2011 presidential election, this time ba ...
. During the 21st century, Portuguese poets have continued to create notable works of literature. Such names include
Vasco Graça Moura Vasco Navarro da Graça Moura, GCSE GCIH OSE (3 January 1942 – 27 April 2014) was a Portuguese lawyer, writer, translator and politician, son of Francisco José da Graça Moura and wife Maria Teresa Amado da Cunha Seixas Navarro de Castro, o ...
(1942), Ana Luísa Amaral (1956) and Gonçalo M. Tavares (1970).


Relevant Portuguese Poets

Image:Luís de Camões por François Gérard.jpg Image:Camilo Pessanha bust Coimbra.JPG Image:Pessoa4.b.gif Image:Joao de Deus Ramos.jpg Image:Manuel Maria Bocage.jpg Image:Mário de Sá-Carneiro.jpg Image:Dinis-P.jpg Image:Estátua do profeta Bandarra - Trancoso (Portugal).jpg Image:Espanca Florbela.jpg Image:Sophia Mello Breyner Andersen.png


See also

*
Galician-Portuguese Galician-Portuguese ( gl, galego-portugués or ', pt, galego-português or ), also known as Old Portuguese or as Medieval Galician when referring to the history of each modern language, was a West Iberian Romance language spoken in the Middle ...
* List of Portuguese language poets *
Portuguese language Portuguese ( or, in full, ) is a western Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family, originating in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is an official language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, ...
*
Portuguese literature Portuguese literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the Portuguese language, particularly by citizens of Portugal; it may also refer to literature written by people living in Portugal, Brazil, Angola and Mozambique, and other ...


References


Portugal - Poetry International Web
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portuguese Poetry Poetry by country
Poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...
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