Manuel Antônio Álvares de Azevedo was born on September 12, 1831, in São Paulo. However, it was in Rio de Janeiro that he attended primary school. He returned to São Paulo to attend law school in 1848. During this period, he began his poetic production and also the first symptoms of his tuberculosis.
Influenced by his knowledge of the disease he had, Álvares de Azevedo developed a real obsession with the theme of death, evident in letters to family and friends.
He found support in the literature of the English poet Lord Byron, known for an outrageous pattern of ethical obstinacy that went against the mores of aristocratic society. This poet was known for his moral adventures and behavioral disturbances that involved him in love scandals, including incest. His poetry, in addition to autobiographical traits, reveals pessimism, anguish and desire for death, seen as an escape from his feelings.
It is interesting to observe the life of Lord Byron in parallel with that of Álvares de Azevedo, as we find that he freely inherited the ultra-romantic traits of the “evil of the century” of that one.
In addition to a melancholy feeling and disenchantment with life, Álvares de Azevedo also embodies Musset's sarcasm, irony and self-destruction.
The poet of Romanticism has few publications, despite being well known, due to the fact that he died still young, at the age of 21, on April 25, 1852.
His storybook “Night at the tavern” presents dark scenarios and characters desolate with life who see in idealized love the solution to all ills.
In Álvares de Azevedo's poetry, in addition to the theme of death, we find loving fulfillment as something unattainable, but if it were possible, it would be complete happiness. Then comes the frustration of the “lyrical self”, which turns again to depression, suffering and pain as an escape.
Let's look at an excerpt from the poem “Remembrance of dying”, written a month before the writer's death:
(...)
If a tear floods my eyelids,
If a sigh in the breasts still trembles,
It's the virgin I dreamed of... that never
Her beautiful face touched my lips!
Only you to the dreamy youth
From the pale poet of this flowers...
If he lived, it was for you! and of hope
In life, enjoy your loves.
I will kiss the holy and naked truth,
I will see the friendly dream crystallize...
O my virgin of wandering dreams,
Child of heaven, I will love with you!
rest my lonely bed
In the forgotten forest of men,
In the shadow of a cross, and write on it:
He was a poet - he dreamed - and he loved in life.
(...)
By Sabrina Vilarinho
Graduated in Letters
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/biografia/alvares-azevedo.htm
