The Old Man of Restelo and Vasco da Gama’s endeavor in the Lusíadas epopee

Authors

  • Cleber Vinicius do Amaral Felipe

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14393/ArtC-V19n35-2017-2-09

Abstract

The words uttered by the “Old man of Restelo” in the epic Os lusíadas (1572), by Camões, are part of one of the most commented episodes of the poem. This article proposes an analysis of this character taking into account the language codes of the time, evaluating the mobilization (or imitation) of clichés from tradition or from custom of the epic genre. In his speech, thereare very old topics, such as valuing experience, condemning greed and praising prudence;this makes the passage rich and central in the poem, as it refers to what was expect from Roman Catholic vassals of the Portuguese Crown. This study refutes the hypothesis according to which this episode would be in disharmony with the rest of the epic because it would portray a position that is contrary to the Portuguese maritime endeavor.

Keywords: Os lusíadas; Old Man of Restelo; epic genre.

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Author Biography

Cleber Vinicius do Amaral Felipe

Doutor em História pela Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp). Pós-doutorando do Programa de Pós-graduação em Teoria e História Literária do Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem da Unicamp. Professor do Instituto de História da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU).

Published

2017-12-20

How to Cite

do Amaral Felipe, C. V. (2017). The Old Man of Restelo and Vasco da Gama’s endeavor in the Lusíadas epopee. ArtCultura, 19(35). https://doi.org/10.14393/ArtC-V19n35-2017-2-09

Issue

Section

Dossiê: Cultura luso-brasileira