Brazilian Literature, despite being young, is one of the richest and most interesting in the world! Our literary tradition, which began in the 16th century, offers readers the most varied genres, including poetry, which occupies a prominent place in our lyrics.
Poetry, through its literary language permeated by expressive resources, aims to thrill, amuse, inform and make the reader imagine reality in a different way. In it we find unique elements, such as the sound game with words with similar sounds – rhymes –, the use of images and many, many metaphors! To understand poetry, it is necessary to be open to new experiences and connect reason to emotion in order to extract all the beauty from the verses.
In Brazil, several writers have dedicated themselves and are dedicated to poetry. Among them, famous and beloved names of the public, such as Manuel Bandeira, Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Vinicius de Moraes, Cecília Meireles and Mario Quintana, just to name a few. So, we chose five poems by these writers so that you can learn a little more about the literature of each one of them and travel in the wonderful universe of Brazilian poetry. Good reading!
Manuel Bandeira was born in Recife, on April 19, 1886, and died in Rio de Janeiro, on October 13, 1968.
the sick boy
The boy sleeps.
for the boy
sleep peacefully,
sitting beside you
Mommy sings:
— "Dodoi, go away!
"Leave my little boy,
"Sleeps... sleeps... my.. ."
Fatigue dead,
She fell asleep.
So, on her shoulder,
A figure of a saint,
In the same song,
In the same voice as her,
leans over and sings:
— 'Sleep, my love.
"Sleep, my darling... "
And the boy sleeps.
Manuel Bandeira
Carlos Drummond de Andrade was born in Itabira, Minas Gerais, on October 31, 1902. He died in Rio de Janeiro, on August 17, 1987.
Childhood
My father rode a horse, went to the countryside.
My mommy used to sat sewing.
My little brother slept.
me alone boy between hoses
read the story of Robinson Crusoe,
long story that never ends.
At noon white of light a voice that learned
to lullaby far away from the slave quarters - and he never forgot
she called for coffee.
Black coffee like the old black one
delicious coffee
Good coffe.
My mommy used to sat sewing
looking at me:
- Psst… Don't wake the boy.
To the crib where a mosquito landed.
And he gave a sigh… how deep!
Far away my father championed
in the endless bush of the farm.
And I didn't know my story
it was prettier than Robinson Crusoe's.
Vinícius de Moraes was born in Rio de Janeiro, on October 19, 1913, and died in the same city, on July 9, 1980.
to a little bird
what did you come for
in my window
Stick your nose in?
gone for a verse
I'm no longer a poet
I've been so happy!
if it's for a prose
I'm not Anchieta
I don't even come from Assisi.
stop stories
Get out of here!
Cecília Meireles was born on November 7, 1901, in Rio de Janeiro. He died in the same city on November 9, 1964.
girl dreams
The flower the girl dreams of
is in the dream?
or on the pillowcase?
Dream
Smiley:
the wind alone
in your cart.
what size
would it be the herd?
The neighbor
catch
the umbrella
of spider web.. .
on the moon there is a nest
of bird.
The moon the girl dreams of
it's the dream linen
or the moon on the pillowcase?
Mario Quintana was born on July 30, 1906, in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. She died in the same city on May 5, 1994.
song of the usual day
So good to live day to day...
Life like this, never tires...
live just for moments
Like these clouds in the sky...
And just win, all your life,
Inexperience... hope...
And the crazy wind rose
Attached to the crown of the hat.
Never give a river a name:
It's always another river to pass.
Nothing ever goes on,
Everything will start over!
and without any memory
Of the other lost times,
I throw the dream rose
In your distracted hands...
By Luana Castro
Graduated in Letters
