You Lusiads is one of the most important works of Portuguese language literature and was written by the Portuguese poet Luís Vaz de Camões and published in 1572.
It was inspired by the classic works of “Odyssey”, by Homer, and the “Aeneid”, by Virgil. Both are epics that narrate the conquests of the Greek people.
In the case of the Lusíadas, Camões narrates the conquests of the Portuguese people at the time of the great navigations.
Structure of the Work
The Lusiads is an epic poem of the narrative genre, which is divided into ten corners.
It is composed of 8816 decasyllable verses (mostly heroic decasyllables: stressed 6th and 10th syllables) and 1102 stanzas of eight verses (octaves). The rhymes used are crossed and paired.
The work is divided into 5 parts, namely:
- Proposition: introduction of the work with presentation of the theme and characters (Canto I).
- Invocation: in this part the poet invokes the Tagus nymphs (Canto I) as inspiration.
- Dedication: part in which the poet dedicates the work to King Dom Sebastião (Canto I).
- Narration: the author narrates the journey of Vasco da Gama and the deeds performed by the characters. (Corners II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII and IX).
- Epilogue: completion of the work (Canto X).
Read too:
- Epic Genre
- Epic
Work Summary
The Epic written in ten corners, has as its theme the 16th century overseas navigations, the great achievements of the Portuguese people and the Voyage of Vasco da Gama to the Indies. Greco-Roman mythology and Christianity are recurrent themes in the work.
In the beginning, he narrates about Vasco da Gama's fleet heading towards the Cape of Good Hope.
The epic ends with the meeting of travelers and the muses on Ilha dos Amores. The main episodes of the work are:
- Inês de Castro (Canto III)
- Old Restelo (Tale IV)
- Giant Adamastor (Corner V)
- Ilha dos Amores (Canto IX)
Check the entire work by downloading the PDF here: The Lusiads.
Excerpts from the Work
To better understand the language of The Lusiads, check out excerpts from each corner of the work below:
corner I
The arms and Barons marked
That of Western Lusitanian beach
By seas never sailed before
They also went beyond Taprobana,
In peril and hard wars
More than human strength promised,
And among remote people they built
New Kingdom, which so sublimated;
corner II
Already at this time the lucid Planet
That the hours of the day distinguish,
I arrived at the desired and slow goal,
The celestial light to the people covering up;
And from the secret maritime house he was the God
At night the door opening,
When the infidel people arrived
To the ships, which had little to anchor.
corner III
Now you, Calliope, teach me
What the illustrious Gamma told the King;
Inspires immortal singing and divine voice
In this deadly chest that loves you so much.
Thus, the clear inventor of Medicine,
Whose Orpheus you pariste, O beautiful Lady,
Never by Daphne, Clicie or Leucotoe,
Deny you the love you owe, as it sounds.
corner IV
After a stormy storm,
Night shadow and whistling wind,
Brings the serene morning light,
Harbor Hope and Rescue;
The black darkness separates the sun,
Removing the fear of thought:
So in the strong Kingdom it happened
After King Ferdinand passed away.
corner V
These sentences such the honorable old man
It was ranting when we opened
The wings to serene and quiet
Wind, and from the beloved port we departed.
And, as is the custom used at sea,
The sail unfurling, the sky we hurt,
Saying:- «Have a good trip!»; soon the wind
On the trunks he made the used movement.
corner VI
He didn't know how to celebrate
The Pagan King the strong navigators,
hope that friendships reached
From the Christian King, from such powerful people.
It weighs him that so far away he had to retire
Of Europeans abundant lands
The adventure that didn't make us a neighbor
From where Hercules to the sea opened the way.
corner VII
They already saw themselves close to the land
What is wanted by so many out there,
That among the Indica currents ends
And the Ganges, who dwells in earthly Heaven.
Why, strong people, who in war
You want to take the winning palm:
You are already arrived, you already have ahead
The land of abundant riches!
corner VIII
In the first figure stopped
The Catual that turns out to be painted,
Which by virtue of a branch in the hand had,
The long, combed white beard.
who it was and why it suited him
The chevron in your hand taken?
Paulo responds, whose discreet voice
The wise Mauritanian interprets you:
corner IX
They had a long time in the city,
Without selling itself, 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.
corner X
But already the clear amateur of Larisseia
Adulteress inclined the animals
There is the large lake that surrounds
Themistitao, in the Western ends;
The great ardor of the Sun Favónio slows down
Co blow that in natural tanks
Ripple the serene water and awaken
The lilies and jasmines, which the calm aggravates,
Who was Luís de Camões?
Luís Vaz de Camões (1524-1580) was one of the most prominent Renaissance poets in Portugal. In addition to being a writer, he was a soldier losing an eye in one of the battles. Unfortunately, Camões did not receive the recognition he deserved during his lifetime.
It was only after his death, in 1580, that his work began to attract the attention of critics. His death year marked the end of Classicism in Portuguese literature.
Entrance Exam Exercises
1. (Mackenzie-SP) About the poem The Lusiads, it is incorrect to state that:
a) when the action of the poem begins, the Portuguese ships are sailing in the middle of the Indian Ocean, therefore in the middle of the voyage;
b) in Invocation, the poet addresses the Tágides, nymphs of the Tagus River;
c) on the island of Amores, after the banquet, Tethys leads the captain to the highest point on the island, where the "machine of the world" descends to him;
d) has as its narrative nucleus Vasco da Gama's voyage, in order to establish maritime contact with the Indies;
e) is composed in decasyllable sonnets, maintaining in 1,102 stanzas the same rhyme scheme.
Alternative e) is composed in decasyllable sonnets, maintaining in 1,102 stanzas the same rhyme scheme.
2. (UNISA) Camões' epic work, Os Lusíadas, is composed of five parts, in the following order:
a) Narration, Invocation, Proposition, Epilogue and Dedication.
b) Invocation, Narration, Proposition, Dedication and Epilogue.
c) Proposition, Invocation, Dedication, Narration and Epilogue.
d) Proposition, Dedication, Invocation, Epilogue and Narration.
e) N.d.a.
Alternative c) Proposition, Invocation, Dedication, Narration and Epilogue.
3. (PUC-PR) About the narrator or narrators of the Lusíadas, it is lawful to state that:
a) there is an epic narrator in the poem: Camões himself;
b) there are two narrators in the poem: The epic eu, Camões speaks through him, and the other, Vasco da Gama, who gives an account of the entire history of Portugal.
c) the narrator of Os Lusíadas is Luiz Vaz de Camões;
d) The narrator of the Lusíadas is the Velho do Restelo;
e) The narrator of Os Lusíadas is the Portuguese people themselves.
Alternative b) there are two narrators in the poem: The epic eu, Camões speaks through him, and the other, Vasco da Gama, who is responsible for the entire history of Portugal.
Read too:
- Classicism
- The Language of Classicism
- Characteristics of Classicism
- Origins of Portuguese Literature
