Description
- Abstract:
- This dissertation offers the first paradigmatic study of Latin poetry written in colonial Latin America in the style of Virgil. The aim of this project is twofold: (i) to examine an overlooked corpus of poetry in order to highlight a neglected part of Virgil’s Latin legacy; (ii) to call attention to the complexity of that Virgilian imitatio or learned imitation in Latin America. This is done through close study of an appropriately representative cross-section of the three foundational forms of early modern poetry for which Virgil has provided the effective prototypes: pastoral, didactic, and epic. It identifies four major constituent trends: i) the development of carmina de gestis in the Americas, ii) bucolic in an educational environment, iii) heroic narrative epic on mythological and historical themes, involving both American and European subjects, and iv) didactic on the geography, agriculture and material production (for this project) in Brazil. The texts examined in this study do not constitute a new species of the Virgilian tradition but rather show how complex and diverse that tradition is. The transmitted text of Virgil is the only consistently shared element of that tradition, not race, region or nationality. As a result, Virgil’s legacy was transformed as much by people writing in the Americas as it was by authors in Europe. There is no ‘Latin American Virgil’ any more than there is an ‘English Virgil’ or ‘Renaissance Italian Virgil.’ Colonial Latin America authors transformed Virgil and each of their transformations was conditioned by specific historical, political and social factors. These Virgils are important for those interested in the legacy of classical texts as well as in the development of Latin American literature. These poems offer a timely reminder that the classical past belongs to many cultures. Indeed, the presence of Latin in Latin America challenges hegemonic thinking that claims classical learning for the West; if anything, this study gestures toward the porousness of ‘the West’, which does and does not extend to the Global South, and highlights a variety of avenues for those interested in the transformations of classical literature.
- Notes:
- Thesis (Ph. D.)--Brown University, 2020
Access Conditions
- Rights
- In Copyright
- Restrictions on Use
- All rights reserved. Collection is open to the Brown community for research.
Citation
Valdivieso, Erika,
"Virgilian Imitation in Colonial Latin America"
(2020).
Classics Theses and Dissertations.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://doi.org/10.26300/y5p4-zb47
