Brown University

'O Uraguai': the epic of the conquest of the South

Description

Abstract:
The opening of Basílio da Gama's ‘Uraguai’ (1769) recalls the ‘Iliad'. In fact Basílio da Gama's poem is modelled after the ‘Iliad’ and the ‘Odyssey’. Eighteenth-century absolutism reduces the attacking army to a single hero. The fighting is described from a eurocentric point of view, but the Indian heroes are, for the first time, individualized in Brazilian Literature.
A abertura de ‘Uraguai’ de Basílio da Gama (1769) lembra a 'Ilíada'. Na realidade, o poema de Basílio da Gama é modelado a partir da 'Ilíada' e da 'Odisséia'. O absolutismo do século XVIII reduz o exército atacante a um único herói. O combate é descrito de um ponto de vista eurocêntrico, mas os heróis indígenas são, pela primeira vez, individualizados na literatura brasileira.

Citation

Schüler, Donaldo, "'O Uraguai': the epic of the conquest of the South" (1993). BRASIL/BRAZIL: A Journal of Brazilian Literature. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. https://doi.org/10.26300/2xks-4r85

Relations

Collection:

  • BRASIL/BRAZIL: A Journal of Brazilian Literature

    BRASIL/BRAZIL: A Journal of Brazilian Literature (ISSN: 2526-4885), founded in 1988, publishes scholarly articles on Brazilian literature and in Comparative Literature with a focus on Brazilian literature, as well as book reviews, interviews with writers, English-language translations of Brazilian literature …

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