Thesis
O Canto Precário: Epopeia, derrogação heróica e desumanização em Caramuru (1781)
- Alternative title:
- Out of tune singing: epic, heroic derogation, and dehumanization in "Caramuru" (1781)
- Abstract:
- This thesis reframes the relevance of "Caramuru" (1781) in the contemporary field of literary and cultural studies in Portuguese. Responding to and revisiting the critical reception of the work, I consider that its circumstance in literary history falls short of the poem that Friar José de Santa Rita Durão wrote. What I call the fragility of the epic singing of the author is the vanishing point of my argument, which is extracted from the ambiguous character of the poetic configuration of the indigenous subject in the epic and consequent production of interpretative meaning. Aware of the overlook of the period within the literary studies in Portuguese, I intend "Caramuru" to be recognised as a pivotal work of the Portuguese-speaking world, written right after the gold extraction from Brazil and just before the dawn of the Brazilian nation. This period offers a rich questioning platform on several aspects that are present in today’s discussions on works and media in Portuguese, which is the case of how slave trade alongside racialized subjects are at the very foundation of the idea of the Portuguese Empire. Through its epic Durão shows partial evidence of this critique in a work meant to, paradoxically, glorify his fatherland. To get here, I discuss through "Caramuru" the Brazilian literary neoclassicism, the epic design of its hero, the poetic representation of the figure of the Brazilian indigenous peoples according to the Portuguese colonial system, the subsequent canonical derogation from the lyric and epic modes, the 18th century conception of nature and the idea of natural goodness, and how the enlightenment thought contaminated the relationship with the Amerindian peoples, interfering with the Brazilian identity at the time of its independence.
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(Preview, Dissemination version, pdf, 2.2MB, Terms of use)
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Authors
Contributors
+ Rothwell, P
- Institution:
- University of Oxford
- Division:
- HUMS
- Department:
- Medieval & Modern Languages Faculty
- Role:
- Supervisor
+ Camões, I. P. / University of Oxford
More from this funder
- Programme:
- Oxford/Instituto Camões Studentship in Portuguese (with Teaching Fellowship).
- DOI:
- Type of award:
- DPhil
- Level of award:
- Doctoral
- Awarding institution:
- University of Oxford
- Language:
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Portuguese
- Keywords:
- Subjects:
- Deposit date:
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2022-06-06
- ARK identifier:
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Rafael Esteves Martins
- Copyright date:
- 2021
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