Luís Carlos Martins Pena (November 5, 1815 – December 7, 1848)
was a
Brazilian playwright, famous for introducing to Brazil the "
comedy of manners
In English literature, the term comedy of manners (also anti-sentimental comedy) describes a genre of realistic, satirical comedy that questions and comments upon the manners and social conventions of a greatly sophisticated, artificial society. ...
", winning the
epithet
An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...
of "the Brazilian
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...
".
He is patron of the 29th chair of the
Brazilian Academy of Letters.
Life
Martins Pena was born 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 ...
, to João Martins Pena and Francisca de Paula Julieta Pena. Losing his father when he was 1 year old, and his mother when he was 10, he was delivered to the care of tutors, who ingressed him at the world of commerce. However, seeing that it was not what he wanted, he entered at the
Escola Nacional de Belas Artes
Escola de Belas Artes (School of Fine Arts) is one of the centers of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and dates back to colonial times.
A royal letter of 20 Nov 1800 by John VI of Portugal established the ''Aula Prática de Desenho e ...
in 1835, learning Architecture,
Statuary
A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size. A sculpture ...
, Drawing and Music. Entering at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1838, he travelled to many countries, such as England, where he contracted
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
. Moving to
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
in an unsuccessful attempt of mitigating the disease, he died in 1848.
Works
* ''O Juiz de Paz na Roça'' (1838)
* ''Itaminda, ou O Guerreiro de Tupã'' (1839)
* ''A Família e a Festa na Roça'' (1840)
* ''Vitiza, ou O
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...
de Espanha'' (1841)
* ''O Judas no Sábado de Aleluia'' (1844)
* ''O Namorador, ou A Noite de São João'' (1845)
* ''Os Três Médicos'' (1845)
* ''A Barriga do Meu Tio'' (1846)
* ''Os Ciúmes de um Pedestre, ou O Terrível Capitão do Mato'' (1846)
* ''As Desgraças de uma Criança'' (1846)
* ''O Diletante'' (1846)
* ''Os Meirinhos'' (1846)
* ''Um Segredo de Estado'' (1846)
* ''O Caixeiro da Taverna'' (1847)
* ''Os Irmãos das Almas'' (1847)
* ''Quem Casa Quer Casa'' (1847)
* ''O Noviço'' (1853; posthumous)
* ''Os Dois e o Inglês Maquinista'' (1871; posthumous)
References
See also
*
1838 in literature
External links
Martins Pena's biography at the official site of the Brazilian Academy of Letters
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pena, Martins
1815 births
1848 deaths
Brazilian male dramatists and playwrights
Writers from Rio de Janeiro (city)
19th-century deaths from tuberculosis
Patrons of the Brazilian Academy of Letters
19th-century Brazilian dramatists and playwrights
19th-century Brazilian male writers
Tuberculosis deaths in Portugal