Caramuru (epic poem)

Caramuru
Title page from the first edition
AuthorSanta Rita Durão
LanguagePortuguese
GenreEpic poem
PublisherRégia Oficina Tipográfica
Publication date
1781
Media typeHardcover

Caramuru is an epic poem written by colonial Brazilian Augustinian friar Santa Rita Durão. It was published in 1781 and is one of the most famous Indianist works of Brazilian Neoclassicism – the other being Basílio da Gama's O Uraguai.

Theme

Stamp depicting the poem

Inspired by Luís de Camões' The Lusiads, it is divided in ten cantos.[1] The poem tells the story of the famous Portuguese sailor Diogo Álvares Correia,[2] known as "Caramuru" (Old Tupi for "Son of the Thunder"), who shipwrecked on the shores of present-day Bahia and had to live among the local indigenous peoples. The poem also alludes to Correia's wife, Catarina Paraguaçu, as a seer, being able to foresee the Dutch invasions of Brazil.

Form

The poem is written in ottava rima[3][4] (oitava rima in Portuguese).[5] The lines consist of ten syllables and the strophe rhymes according to the abababcc pattern. Here is the first stanza of the poem. The hero "Filho do Trovão" is introduced in it.

De um varão em mil casos agitados,
Que as praias discorrendo do Ocidente,
Descobriu recôncavo afamado
Da capital brasílica potente;
Do Filho do Trovão denominado,
Que o peito domar soube à fera gente,
O valor cantarei na adversa sorte,
Pois só conheço herói quem nela é forte.

Adaptations

See also

References

  1. ^ José de Santa Rita Durão.
  2. ^ Mona Baker, Kirsten Malmkjær (ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, p. 327
  3. ^ Ottava rima at Poetry Foundation.
  4. ^ Ottava rima, poetic form
  5. ^ Oitava rima at dicionarioinformal.com.br.
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