Portuguese Literature and Culture
In drawing up an overview of 19th century Portuguese literature and culture, we have divided this unit into three main sections. In the first section, we intend to establish an image of the nationalisation of Portuguese literature (or of literature as an interpretation of the nation) during the period of Romanticism, analysing above all some key topics in the work of Almeida Garrett. In the second section, we look at Portuguese literature in the light of the socio-cultural and technological developments that characterised Europe in the second half of the 19th century. Since a significant gap between Europe and Portugal has been identified, particularly in the “Geração 70”, we will study some attempts to “Europeanise” Portugal in the works of Eça de Queirós and Antero de Quental. An approach to the poetry of Cesário Verde and Camilo Pessanha will be the central content of the third section. The two poets profoundly influenced several writers at the beginning of the 20th century and should therefore be considered the most important predecessors of Modernism in Portugal. In methodological terms, we intend to contextualise the history and culture of 19th century Portuguese literature.
Portugal, Europe, Romanticism, Modernism
The unit aims to promote the following skills:
- Comprehension of the dynamic relationship between theoretical texts and literary and metaliterary texts that relate to them.
- Capacity to an interpretation and critical reflection within the scope of the programme, as well as the exercise of a structured and coherent form of expression (oral and written).
- Capacity to a selective and coherent research in order to produce a scientific study that combines acquired knowledge, critical reflection and original perspectives.
The unit aims to reflect on the critical and literary production of a selected corpus of 19th century authors who, in a paradigmatic way, contributed to the constitutive construction of a national identity and/or a literary and social modernity. The intention is to theorise the aesthetics of the different authors in question, as well as to follow the fictional practices that dialogue with this itinerary. By studying the Portuguese intellectual, aesthetic, cultural and literary panorama of the 19th century, the aim is to provide a historical-literary and socio-cultural contextualisation of poets and writers whose main intention was to connect Portugal with the transformations that characterised European modernity at the time.
NOTE: Only a few reference works are listed here. For each of the topics, specific bibliography will be indicated and, whenever possible, made available during the unit. In addition, students are required to carry out individual bibliographical research.
· Reference reading
- GARRETT, Almeida (1846), Viagens na minha terra, 2 vol., Lisboa: Typ. Gazeta dos Tribunais (disponível online na BNP).
- GARRETT, Almeida (1830), Portugal na balança da Europa, Londres: S. W. Sustenance (disponível online na BNP).
- PESSANHA, Camilo (2014), Clepsidra, Lisboa: INCM (disponível online na INCM).
- QUEIRÓS, Eça de (2022), O Crime do Padre Amaro, Lisboa: INCM.
- QUEIRÓS, Eça de (2009), Os Maias, Lisboa: Porto Editora.
- QUEIRÓS, Eça de (1896), “Um Génio Que Era um Santo” in: Antero de Quental. In Memoriam, Porto: Mathieu Lugan Editor.
- QUENTAL, Antero de (2001), Causas da Decadência dos Povos Peninsulares nos Últimos Três Séculos, Lisboa: Guimarães Editores.
- QUENTAL, Antero de (1875), Odes Modernas, Porto: E. Chardron (disponível online na BNP).
- VERDE, Cesário (2015), Cânticos do Realismo. O Livro de Cesário Verde, Lisboa: INCM.
· Supporting reading (choice)
- BUESCU, Helena C. (org.) (1997), Dicionário do Romantismo Literário Português, Lisboa: Caminho.
CUNHA, Carlos Manuel Ferreira (2002), A construção do discurso da história literária na literatura portuguesa do século XIX, Braga: Universidade do Minho (disponível no repositório da Universidade do Minho).
- FIGES, Orlando (2019), The Europeans: Three Lives and the Making of a Cosmopolitan Culture, London: Penguin Books.
- MÓNICA, Maria Filomena (2001), Eça de Queirós, Lisboa: Quetzal.
- PIRES, António Manuel Machado (2007), Luz e Sombras no Século XIX em Portugal, Lisboa: INCM.
- REIS, Carlos (1990), As Conferências do Casino, Lisboa: Publicações Alfa.
- SALMI, Hannu (2008), 19th Century Europe: A Cultural History, Cambridge: Polity Press.
E-learning
The assessment includes several written academic works, as well as regular and relevant participation in the forums throughout the semester.
Bibliography in English may be indicated/made available.