Delfina Benigna da Cunha (1791–1857) was a Brazilian poet. Her works reflected the increasing socio-political participation of Brazilian women through literary and journalistic production. da Cunha explored gender as well as imperial and national identities. She is also cited as a leading figure in the development of

Gaucho literature Gaucho literature, also known as gauchesco ("gauchoesque") genre was a literary movement purporting to use the language of the gauchos, comparable to the American cowboy, and reflecting their mentality. Although earlier works have been identified a ...

. da Cunha, a blind poet, was a subject of Stella Leonardos' work ''Romanceiro de Anita e Garibaldi e Romaceiro de Delfina''.

Biography

da Cunha was born on June 17, 1791, in

São José do Norte São José do Norte is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. As of 2020, the estimated population was 27,721. Tourist attractions de Sao Jose do Norte (a church) (a historical site) (lighthouse) (historical site) (beac ...

, a municipality in

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

. Her parents were Maria de Paula e Cunha and Joaquim Francisco da Cunha Sa e Meneses, who was a monarchist military official. da Cunha lost her vision after she contracted smallpox when she was 20 months old. She would later receive a pension due to her father's service to the crown. There were few records detailing her early life but some of da Cunha's works indicated that she obtained some form of formal education based on a poem she dedicated to Pedro I in 1826. An account cited that she was granted the pension because of this sonnet or a series of poems she dedicated to the emperor. Her book ''Poesias oferecidas às senhoras rio-grandenses'' was the first ever publication printed in Rio Grande Sul. Much of da Cunha's work had been neglected by literary historians. Some accounts of her life and works survived due to the work of Stella Leonardos, who used her biography and literary contributions in her own poetry. The discovery of da Cunha's archival works had been prompted by the recent interest in

feminist criticism Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist theory, or more broadly, by the politics of feminism. It uses the principles and ideology of feminism to critique the language of literature. This school of thought seeks to an ...

and

Gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, the southern part of Bolivia, and the south of Chilean Patago ...

literature. da Cunha died on 13 April 1857 in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. In 1994, Stella Leonardos published O romanceiro de Delfina, by the State Book Institute, a historical novel with the poet as its protagonist.

Poetry

da Cunha's poetry often featured mythological elements and this was attributed to her classical education, which was predominant during her time. Recurring themes included eulogy, passion, romance, and patriotism. Death and romance, for example, are prominent in the following excerpt of her work:da Cunha also wrote in defense of the monarchy and attacked the Farroupilha Revolution or the Ragamuffin Revolt of Rio Grande do Sul in her works. She was particularly critical of Bento Gonçalves. Due to her political position, she moved to Rio de Janeiro when the conflict broke out in 1835 and stayed there for ten years. During this time, she was able to establish a literary circle and cultivated close friendship with noted female poets such as

Beatriz Francisca de Assis Brandão Beatriz (, ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese female first name. It corresponds to the Latin name Beatrix and the English and Italian name Beatrice. The name in Latin means 'brings joy' and in other languages also means 'she who brings oth ...

, who wrote the poem ''Carta de Leandro a Hero, e Carta de Hero a Leandra'' in her honor.

Publications

* ''Poesias offerecidas as Senhoras Rio-Grandenses por sua patricia''. Rio de Janeiro: Typographia Austral, 1838. * ''Poesias oferecidas às senhoras brasileiras'' (1838) * ''Coleção de várias poesias (dedicada à imperatriz viúva).'' Rio de Janeiro: Tipografia Laemmert's, 1846.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:da Cunha, Delfina Benigna 1791 births Brazilian poets Brazilian literature Brazilian poetry 19th-century Brazilian women writers 19th-century Brazilian writers Brazilian women poets 1857 deaths People from Rio Grande do Sul