Paraphrase: what is it and examples

What do paraphrase and paraphrase mean?

A paraphrase is a type of text based on an existing one that is known by readers, keeping the idea of ​​the original text. This means that paraphrase is a kind of intertextuality.

To paraphrase means “To interpret a text with its own words, keeping its original meaning” (in Dicio.com.br).

Thus, the paraphrase is a resource that requires skill in textual interpretation, because to paraphrase it is necessary to fully understand the message conveyed in a text.

In addition to mastering text interpretation, the exercise of paraphrase requires a cultural repertoire, as those who write need know a variety of texts, so that you can try to find in them possibilities of intertextualization with textual records varied.

paraphrase examples

Examples of paraphrases are found, above all, in literature, but any artistic work can be paraphrased: a painting, a photograph, a sculpture.

Proverbs paraphrases (original examples)

  • Better hungry than full of insipid food. (Paraphrase of "Better only than in bad company.")
  • A politician who promises doesn't deliver. (Paraphrase from "Dog that barks does not bite.")
  • From deposit to deposit, the account is filled with cash. (Paraphrase of "From grain to grain, the chicken fills the crop.")
  • Every mother has a bit of a teacher and a nurse. (Paraphrase of "Everyone has a little bit of a doctor and a madman.")
  • The teacher helps those who study a lot. (Paraphrase of "God helps early risers.")

poem paraphrase

Excerpt from the poem Song of Exile (1843)

"Our sky has more stars,
Our floodplains have more flowers,
Our forests have more life,
Our life more loves."

Excerpt from the Brazilian National Anthem (1909)

"Than the brightest land,
Your laughing, beautiful fields have more flowers;
Our forests have more life,
Our life in your bosom more loves."

Explanation: written in 1909 by the Brazilian poet Joaquim Osório Duque Estrada (1870-1927), the stanza above is an excerpt from the lyrics of the Brazilian National Anthem.

It is a paraphrase of the poem that the romantic poet Gonçalves Dias (1823-1864) wrote in 1843 and in which he praises the country.

frame paraphrase

paraphrase of Abaporu
Photograph by Alexandre Mury (left), paraphrasing Abaporu, by Tarsila do Amaral (right)

Explanation: Abaporu, from 1928, is a masterpiece painted by the artist Tarsila do Amaral (1886-1973) and which inspired the Anthropophagic Movement.

In honor of Tarsila, photographer Alexandre Mury (1976) presented his work above, a photographic record that is an example of a paraphrase.

sentence paraphrase

Tupi or not Tupi, that is the question."

Explanation: the sentence above, found in the Anthropophagous Manifesto - which aimed to promote our cultural independence - was written in 1928 by Oswald de Andrade (1890-1954).

It is a paraphrase of the phrase "To be or not to be, that is the question.", said by Hamlet in the homonymous play by the English poet William Shakespeare (1564-1616), published in 1603.

Paraphrase differs from parody, because this gives rise to a text whose original idea is altered, being used to ironize some situation.

If you want to know more: Parody and Paraphrase and Intertextuality

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