Author: Thompson, Timothy A.

Source: Portuguese Studies, Volume 25, Number 2, 15 September 2009 , pp. 151-168(18)

Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association

Abstract:

To date, most analyses of the connection between Fernando Pessoa and the Anglo-American literary tradition have emphasized the influences of nineteenth-century writers, particularly Walt Whitman. Although it is true that Pessoa's British education in South Africa afforded him extensive knowledge of these figures, his literary notions were influenced, above all, by the aesthetic discourses of the eighteenth century. In particular, an analysis of the sublime in Pessoa's work reveals his effort to appropriate British aesthetics and deploy it as a means of empowering Portuguese poetry and giving it new status in world literature.

Portuguese
Até hoje, a maioria das análises da ligação entre Fernando Pessoa e a literatura anglo-americana tem enfatizado somente as influências de escritores do século dezanove, em especial Walt Whitman. É verdade que a educação britânica de Pessoa na África do Sul permitiu-lhe um conhecimento aprofundado dos autores deste período; no entanto, suas ideias literárias foram influenciadas sobretudo pelos discursos estéticos do século dezoito. Em particular, uma análise do sublime nos trabalhos pessoanos mostra a clara preocupação do poeta em importar a estética britânica e usá-la como um veículo de engrandecimento da poesia portuguesa, numa nova tentativa de colocá-la numa posição de destaque na literatura mundial.

Keywords: Fernando Pessoa; Walt Whitman; South Africa; eighteenth century; sublime; British aesthetics; Fernando Pessoa; Walt Whitman; África do Sul; século dezoito; sublime; estética britânica

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Indiana University-Bloomington

Publication date: 2009-09-15

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• The only English-language journal devoted to the literature, culture, and history of Portugal, Brazil, and the Portuguese-speaking countries of Africa. Launched in 1985, it received the 'Best New Journal Award' of the Conference of Editors of Learned Journals in 1987. It publishes articles, translations, previously unpublished historical and literary texts, bibliographical information, and a survey of research and reviews.

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