THE language of classicism it is classic, formal, objective, balanced and rational. Thus, the authors of classicism prioritized cultured language and aesthetic rigor.
Origin of Classicism
Classicism is the artistic period that took place in the 16th century and emerged in Italy along with the Renaissance movement.
In Portuguese literature, classicism began with the arrival of the Portuguese writer Francisco Sá de Miranda to Portugal in 1537.
He returned from Italy bringing new models with him. These were introduced in the literature above all, the sonnets, which became known as “sweetstilnew” (Sweet new style).
O sonnet it is a fixed poetic form, formed by two quartets (strophes of four lines) and two triplets (strophes of three lines).
The end of Classicism corresponds to the year of Camões' death, in 1580. After Classicism, the Baroque artistic movement began.
Characteristics of Classicism
- Return to classic models (Greek-Roman);
- Search for aesthetic perfection;
- Formal rigor;
- Reason and balance;
- Nationalism and Anthropocentrism;
- Rationalism and scientism;
- Use of sonnets and decasyllable verses;
- Religious and mythological themes.
Main Authors and Works
- Sá de Miranda (1481-1558) and the work “Poetry” (1677)
- Luís de Camões (1524-1580) and the epic "The Lusiads” (1572)
- Bernardim Ribeiro (1482-1552) and the novel “girl and girl” (1554)
- António Ferreira (1528-1569) and the tragedy “The Castro” (1587)
- Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) and the novel "Don Quixote” (1605).
- Dante Alighieri 1265-1321) and the epic poem "The divine Comedy” (1555);
- Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374) and the poetic work "Songbook and the Triumph”;
- Giovanni Boccacio (1313-1375) and the novel “Decameron” (1348 and 1353).
Read too:
- Classicism
- Characteristics of Classicism
- Renaissance: characteristics and historical context
Examples
To better understand the language of classicism, check out three examples below:
Excerpt from the work “Os Lusíadas” by Luís de Camões
corner IX
They had a long time in the city,
Without being sold, the farm, the two overseers,
May the Infidels, through trickery and falsehood,
They prevent merchants from buying it;
That all your purpose and will
It was to stop the discoverers there
From India as long as they came
From Mecca the ships, let yours undo.
Sonnet of Sa de Miranda
The sun is great, the birds calmly fall,
From the weather in such a season that it just feels cold:
This water, which falls from above, would wake me up,
Not sleep, but serious care.Oh things all vain, all mute,
What is the heart that trusts you?
One day goes by, another day goes by,
Uncertain all the more than the ships in the wind!I've seen shadows and flowers around here,
I saw waters, and I saw springs, I saw greenery;
I saw the birds singing all about love.Dumb and dry is everything; and mixing,
Also doing myself I went from other colors;
everything else renews, this is without cure.
Excerpt from the work “The Divine Comedy” by Dante Alighieri
halfway through this life
I found myself lost in a dark jungle,
lonely, no sun and no way out.Ah, how to arm a figure in the air
of this wild jungle, hard, strong,
that, just thinking about it, disfigures me?It's almost as bitter as death;
but to expose the good I found,
other data I will give of my luck.I don't remember exactly how I got in,
taken by a strange drowsiness,
when the path I left.
Test your knowledge of this period: Exercises on Classicism.
