“Bizarria de engenho”: Silva Alvarenga and the hero-comic poem in the doctrine of Francisco José Freire

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze “Discurso sobre o poema herói-cômico [Discourse on the hero-comic poem]”, a text that precedes O Desertor [The Deserter] (1774), a hero-comic poem by Silva Alvarenga. In this text, the Luso-Brazilian poet tries to justify his choice for the hero-comic genre in face of the critics' rejection. Historical and critical studies on the work are scarce and, among those that deal directly with the poem, with some exceptions, there are still insufficient readings and a disinterested reception, a fact that contrasts with reviews of Glaura (1801). Thus, it is necessary to try to understand the poetic production of Silva Alvarenga before the poetic and rhetorical conventions that guided the letters in the eighteenth century. The main reference in Portuguese language of this period is Poetic Art (1748/49), by Francisco José Freire. A comparison between the assumptions about the nature of the hero-comic poem expounded by Alvarenga and the precepts of Freire's poetic doctrine will be stablished in order to contribute to the expansion of studies on O Desertor [The Deserter]. For this purpose, in addition to Freire and Alvarenga, this paper will be based on the readings of Aristotle (1984), Candido (1975) and Genette (1971), and Ivan Teixeira (1999).