You 20 classics of Brazilian literature presented here are part of the literary tradition of our country. Therefore, they are works that have survived time and say a lot about Brazilian culture. they belong to various period styles, in addition to presenting authorial peculiarities. Are they:
Marília de Dirceu (Tomás Antônio Gonzaga);
night at the tavern (Alvares de Azevedo);
the slave ship (Castro Alves);
Iracema (José de Alencar);
the brunette (Joaquim Manuel de Macedo);
the slave Isaura (Bernardo Guimarães);
the novice (Martins Pena);
The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas (Machado de Assis);
the tenement (Aluísio Azevedo);
bucklers (Cruz and Sousa);
Sad end of Policarpo Quaresma (Lima Barreto);
Macunaíma (Mário de Andrade);
Romanceiro da Inconfidência (Cecília Meireles);
The time and the wind (Erico Verissimo);
Great hinterland: paths (João Guimarães Rosa);
eviction room (Carolina Maria de Jesus);
the star hour (Clarice Lispector);
dirty poem (Ferreira Gullar);
catatau (Paulo Leminski);
moldy strawberries (Gaius Fernando Abreu).
Read too: Brazilian literature — a literature that has more than 500 years of history
Topics of this article
- 1 - Marília de Dirceu, by Tomás Antônio Gonzaga
- 2 - Night at the tavern, by Álvares de Azevedo
- 3 - The slave ship, by Castro Alves
- 4 - Iracema, by José de Alencar
- 5 - The Moreninha, by Joaquim Manuel de Macedo
- 6 - The slave Isaura, by Bernardo Guimarães
- 7 - The Novice, by Martins Pena
- 8 - Posthumous memoirs of Brás Cubas, by Machado de Assis
- 9 - The tenement, by Aluísio Azevedo
- 10 - Bucklers, by Cruz e Sousa
- 11 - The sad end of Policarpo Quaresma, by Lima Barreto
- 12 - Macunaíma, by Mario de Andrade
- 13 - Romanceiro da Inconfidência, by Cecília Meireles
- 14 - Time and the wind, by Erico Verissimo
- 15 - Grande sertão: veredas, by João Guimarães Rosa
- 16 - Eviction room, by Carolina Maria de Jesus
- 17 - The Hour of the Star, by Clarice Lispector
- 18 - Dirty Poem, by Ferreira Gullar
- 19 - Catatau, by Paulo Leminski
- 20 - Moldy Strawberries, by Caio Fernando Abreu
Marília de Dirceu, by Tomás Antônio Gonzaga
Belonging to Brazilian Arcadianism, the book Marília de Dirceubrings verses inspired by the love story between its author, Tomás Antônio Gonzaga, and his young bride from Minas Gerais, Maria Doroteia Joaquina de Seixas Brandão. The work is basically divided into two parts and features bucolic elements.
The first part exalts the figure of Marília, a woman idealized by the lyrical self. In the second, although the woman and love remain idealized, the lyrical self also presents a sad and lugubrious, as a reflection of the arrest of the author, involved in the separatist movement known as Inconfidência Mining. To learn more about the work, click here.
night at the tavern, by Álvares de Azevedo
The soap opera night at the tavern is a dark work by the young romantic poet Álvares de Azevedo. Gothic in character, it brings elements such as sex, violence and death, as well as reflections on existence. The central story takes place in a tavern, where young bohemians gather to drink and tell their tragic and immoral experiences.
Solfieri had sex with a dead young woman, who came back to life after such an act. Bertram was the lover of a Spanish woman, who, to prove her love, violently murdered her husband and her own son. Gennaro had an affair with his master's wife and also dishonored his master's daughter.
Claudius Hermann repeatedly abused a duchess after slipping a drug into her glass and ultimately kidnapped her. Johann participated in a duel and discovered that the dead man had an appointment with a virgin. He went to meet him and, in the dark, pretended to be the dead man. After sex, he found out that the girl was his own sister, i.e. committed incest.
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the slave shipby Castro Alves
Romantic poem by the abolitionist poet Castro Alves, the slave shipshows the inhumane transport of African people to be enslaved in Brazil. The work is from 1868; therefore, 18 years after the enactment of the Eusébio de Queirós Law, which prohibited the slave trade.
The work, thus, is configured in a denunciation that intends to show the horrors of slavery. Through hyperbolic and shocking images, the author sought to provoke empathy in white readers and, through emotion, make them revolt against slavery. To learn more about the poem, click here.
Iracema, by José de Alencar
Romantic and Indianist novel and a work by José de Alencar, Iracemashows, in an idealized way, the origin of the Brazilian people. In this way, the love between this indigenous woman and the Portuguese Martim gives rise to Moacir, the first Brazilian. However, to live this love story, Iracema needs to betray and abandon the customs of her people. To learn more about the novel, click here.
the brunette, by Joaquim Manuel de Macedo
Urban novel by the romantic writer Joaquim Manuel de Macedo, the brunettetells the love story between Augusto and Carolina, whose nickname is Moreninha. The narrative begins with a bet between medical students Filipe and Augusto. Thus, if Augusto loves a single woman for 15 days or more, he will have to write a novel about it. How he loses the bet but wins a love, he writes the book the brunette.
the slave Isaura, by Bernardo Guimaraes
One of the most famous novels of the 19th century and a work by Bernardo Guimarães, the slave Isaura tells the story of Isaura, a white slave. She is the daughter of a black woman who was enslaved and a white man, the overseer of a farm. After her mother's death, the girl is raised by the rich wife of Commander Almeida.
Raised as a white and free woman, the heroine's life turns into hell when the commander's wife dies and Isaura becomes the property of the cruel Leôncio. As she is beautiful, the villain brutally harasses her. However, Isaura falls in love with the young abolitionist Álvaro.
Thus, the romantic couple needs to defeat the villain to win Isaura's freedom and the couple's happiness. In this way, the regionalist novel by the romantic writer Bernardo Guimarães puts slavery in Brazil in check. It is, therefore, a sentimental abolitionist novel. To learn more about the work, click here.
the novice, by Martins Pena
Famous play of the Brazilian romantic theater and a work by Martins Pena, the noviceis a comedy that was very successful in the 19th century.The hero of the story is the novice Carlos, who runs away from a convent because he has no aptitude for ecclesiastical life. The villain, on the other hand, is Ambrósio, a bigamist, who marries out of interest with the rich widow Florencia, Carlos' aunt.
Carlos is in love with his cousin Emília, who is also destined for the convent, since her stepfather convinced Florencia that the best thing would be for Emília to be a nun and her son Juca, a friar. That's because Ambrose doesn't want to share the inheritance. But Carlos unmasks the villain, and the family has a happy ending, after truly comical events.
The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubasby Machado de Assis
Main work of Brazilian realism and one of the main works of Machado de Assis, The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas tells the story of Brás Cubas, narrator character of the narrative. strangely, the protagonist is a deceased person, as he narrates his story after his death. In this context, the book, with a lot of irony, criticizes the Carioca bourgeoisie of the 19th century.
Member of a wealthy family, Brás Cubas was a spoiled and cruel child. Later, in adult life, he became the lover of Virgília, a married woman. Otherwise, his life was a sequence of unfinished projects, useless and empty. Thus, the narrator shows the hypocrisy of the bourgeois class, in addition to pointing out the inherent human corruption. To learn more about the work, click here.
the tenement, by Aluísio Azevedo
By Aluisio Azevedo, the tenementis a naturalistic book and therefore presents a deterministic perspective. According to this view, three factors would determine the destiny of the characters: race, environment and historical period. In the novel in question, the influence of the corrupting environment predominates, that is, the Cortiço de São Romão.
In this work, there are three main spaces: the sale of João Romão (owner of the tenement), the tenement (where they live characters like Jerônimo, Rita Baiana, Albino and Pombinha) and Miranda's house (a businessman Portuguese). João Romão, the highest representative of capitalism, mainly exploits his partner, an enslaved woman named Bertoleza. To learn more about the work, click here.
bucklersby Cruz e Sousa
From Cruz e Sousa, bucklersis one of the main books of Brazilian symbolist poetry. Full of sensory elements, the poems are quite suggestive. They also present metaphysical elements, existential anguish, morbid aspects and pessimistic character. They have metered verses, marked by musicality, as can be seen in this stanza of the poem “Sonata”:
From the immense sea, wonderful, bitter,
The swashbucklers murmur compungently
Virgin chants of latent emotions,
Of the sun in the lukewarm, morbid lethargy...
Sad end of Policarpo Quaresmaby Lima Barreto
From Lima Barreto, the pre-modernist novel Sad end of Policarpo Quaresma it presents a critical nationalism, that is, it highlights the social problems of a nation. Ironically, the narrator shows the trajectory of Policarpo Quaresma, a nationalist who idealizes things for his country.
However, he ends up disappointed when he realizes that the Brazil he thought he lived in does not exist. Moreover, the narrative has comic situations, such as the occasion when, innocently, the protagonist defends Tupi-Guarani as the official language. It also features tragic elements, such as Quaresma's imprisonment. To learn more about the novel, click here.
Macunaíma, by Mario de Andrade
Famous work of the first phase of modernism in Brazil and a work by Mário de Andrade, Macunaíma tells the story of an indigenous man (representative of the Brazilian man) called Macunaíma, “the hero without any character”. In this narrative full of irony and fantastic elements, the narrator, without idealizations, seeks to reveal the true national identity.
In addition to showing the country's social problems and the (bad) character of the Brazilian people, the work also values national culture, the result of a miscegenation process. The book criticizes, therefore, the perspective of the romantic authors of the 19th century, who used the heroic and idealized figure of the indigenous person to symbolize the Brazilian people. To learn more about the work, click here.
Romanceiro da Inconfidênciaby Cecilia Meireles
An important work of the second phase of Brazilian modernism and a work by Cecília Meireles, Romanceiro da Inconfidência is a narrative written in verse that has a historical perspective, as it resumes the episode of Inconfidência Mineira, a separatist movement that took place in the 18th century in Minas Gerais. In this way, the book also praises the culture of Minas Gerais, in addition to presenting existential reflections. To learn more about the work, click here.
The time and the wind, by Erico Verissimo
From Erico Verissimo, the trilogy The time and the wind, another representative work of Brazilian modernist prose, has a historical character. Through fiction, it tells 200 years of the history of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Thus, the narrative takes place between the years 1745 and 1945. Divided into seven volumes, its main action space is the fictional city of Santa Fe.
The work presents the main political and social events in the south of the country, and features characters such as Ana Terra and Captain Rodrigo, members of the Terra-Cambará family. In addition, the trilogy is composed of the following titles: “The continent”, “The portrait” and “The archipelago”.
Great hinterland: paths, by João Guimarães Rosa
The romance Great hinterland: paths is the main work of Guimarães Rosa. The story is told by Riobaldo, character narrator and former jagunço from the backlands of Minas Gerais. The protagonist tells his story to a certain interlocutor, centered mainly on the time he was part of a band of jagunços, during the Old Republic.
In this rough and violent environment, he ended up falling in love with Diadorim (or Reinaldo). From then on, she began to experience the conflict between good and evil, between sin and salvation. This work full of neologisms praises the culture of the sertão of Minas Gerais and brings a surprising ending to the love story between Riobaldo and Diadorim. To learn more about the novel, click here.
eviction room, by Carolina Maria de Jesus
The book eviction room Its subtitle is “diary of a favelada”. In this classic of Brazilian literature, the author, a poor black woman, shows her daily life in the Canindé favela, in São Paulo, between 1955 and 1959. In the struggle for survival, this single mother collects paper to feed her children, but hunger is always lurking.
The work presents colloquial and poetic language and shows the critical vision of the writer Carolina Maria de Jesus, who had only two years of formal study. In this way, the voice of the peripheral subject, represented by the author, is heard and amplified by the great success of the work in the 1960s. To learn more about the work, click here.
the star hourby Clarice Lispector
From Clarice Lispector, the telenovela the star hour Its main characteristic is metalanguage. Like this, the narrator Rodrigo S. M. highlights its creation process, in order to show us the literary birth of its main character: the northeastern Macabéa. Amid existential reflections, he builds the character.
Finally, she takes the lead and we are taken to her poor environment, lacking everything, including ideas. Macabéa becomes romantically involved with the ambitious worker Olímpico. Like her, he left the Northeast to live in Rio de Janeiro. And, as it couldn't be otherwise, this story has a tragic ending. To learn more about her, click here.
dirty poem, by Ferreira Gullar
The work dirty poemIt is a long autobiographical poem.. The author wrote it when he was in exile, during the Military Dictatorship, which began in 1964. The poet used the term “dirty” to describe his poem. One of the reasons was that, for having some profanity, he would be seen like that by the defenders of morals and good customs.
In this work, Ferreira Gullar recalled his life in São Luís do Maranhão. The poem was written in Buenos Aires in 1975. In it, the author gave testimony of his own existence, as he believed that he would soon be captured and killed by the military regime. With the publication of the book, the poet finally returned to Brazil, but remained alive.
catatau, by Paulo Leminski
catatau is an experimental novel consisting of only one long paragraph. It consists of the interior monologue of a real character, the philosopher René Descartes (Cartésio), who, in the Brazilian Northeast, awaits the arrival of the character Artischefski. The book is fictional and has lyrical language, philosophical discourse, satirical character and illogical elements.
moldy strawberries, by Caio Fernando Abreu
One of the main books of short stories by the writer Caio Fernando Abreu, moldy strawberries was first published in 1982. In these tales, are the disenchantment and memory of a generation that lived through the revolution of customs that took place in the 1960s and 1970s, but which also experienced the repression promoted by the Military Dictatorship in Brazil.
The book features the famous homoerotic tales “Sargento Garcia” and “Aqueles dois”. And it also shows the violence of homophobia in “Fat Tuesday”. In addition to them, 15 more short stories make up the work, all marked by existential anguish, so characteristic of this author's works.
image credits
[1] Antofágica Publisher (reproduction)
[2] Grupo Companhia das Letras (reproduction)
By Warley Souza
Literature Teacher
Read the analysis of the work “A escrava Isaura”, learn about the characteristics of this narrative and learn a little about the life of its author, Bernardo Guimarães.
Read the review of the book "The Hour of the Star". Get to know the main characteristics of this work and learn a little about the life of its author, Clarice Lispector.
Read the analysis of the work “Grande sertão: veredas” and learn about the characteristics of this narrative. Also learn a little about the life of the author of the work, Guimarães Rosa.
Read the analysis of the book “O cortiço”. Discover the main features of this work. Learn a little about the life of its author Aluísio Azevedo.
Read the analysis of the work “Romanceiro da Inconfidência”, by Cecília Meireles, and learn about the characteristics of this narrative in verses.
Find out who Aluísio Azevedo was. See facts from his biography, understand his literary characteristics, and read a commentary on his main works.
Meet the romantic writer Bernardo Guimarães. Find out what are the characteristics of his main works. Also, see some trivia about the author.
Get to know the life and work of Caio Fernando Abreu, one of the most popular writers in Brazilian literature. Learn a little about the characteristics of your writing.
Find out who Carolina Maria de Jesus was. Get to know his main works and see why his book Quarto de despejo was so successful.
Find out who Castro Alves was, the poet of the slaves. Read the biography of his brief life, see his published works and his main poems.
