António Ferreira
Encyclopedia
António Ferreira was a Portuguese
poet
and the foremost representative of the classical school, founded by Francisco de Sá de Miranda
. His most considerable work, Castro, is the first tragedy
in Portuguese
, and the second in modern Europe
an literature.
. His father held the post of escrivão de fazenda in the house of the Duke of Coimbra
at Setúbal
. In 1547, he went to the University of Coimbra, and graduated with a bachelor's degree
.
Ferreira took his doctor's degree on July 14, 1555, an event which was celebrated, according to custom, by a sort of Roman triumph
, and he stayed on as a professor, finding Coimbra, with its picturesque environs, congenial to his poetical tastes and love of a country life.
He was intimate with princes, nobles and the most distinguished literary men of the time, such as the scholarly Diogo de Teive, and the poets Bernardes, Caminha and Corte-Real. In 1558, at the age of 29, he married D. Maria Pimentel. After a short and happy married life, his wife died.
On October 14, 1567, he became Desembargador da Casa do Civel, and had to leave the quiet of Coimbra for Lisbon
. His verses tell how he disliked the change, and how the bustle of the capital, then a great commercial emporium, made him sad and almost tongue-tied for poetry. The intrigues and moral twists of the courtiers and traders, among whom he was forced to live, hurt his fine sense of honor, and he felt his mental isolation more, because his friends were few and scattered in that great city which the discoveries and conquests of the Portuguese had made the centre of a world empire.
In 1569, a terrible epidemic of carbunculous fever broke out and carried off 50,000 inhabitants of Lisbon, and, on November 29, Ferreira, who had stayed there doing his duty when others fled; fell a victim.
prose comedy, Bristo in (1553), at the age of twenty-five, and dedicated it to Prince John in the name of the university. It is neither a comedy of character nor manners, but its vis comica lies in its plot and situations. The Cioso, a later product, may almost be called a comedy of character.
The death in 1554 of Prince John, the heir to the throne, drew from him, as from Camões
, Bernardes and Caminha, a poetical lament, which consisted of an elegy
and two eclogues, imitative of Virgil
and Horace
, and devoid of interest.
The year 1557 produced his sixth elegy, addressed to the son of the great Albuquerque
, a poem of noble patriotism expressed in eloquent and sonorous verse.
s forming the First Book in his collected works, date from 1552 and contain the history of his early love for an unknown lady. They seem to have been written in Coimbra or during vacations in Lisbon
. The sonnets in the Second Book were inspired by his wife, and they are marked by that chastity
of sentiment, seriousness and ardent patriotism. The ninth sonnet of Book 2, written after her premature death, describes her end in moving words. This loss lent Ferreira's verse an added austerity, and the independence of his muse is remarkable when he addresses King Sebastian and reminds him of his duties as well as his rights.
in musical odes, rich in feeling and grandeur of expression. His love is the chaste, timid affection of a wife and a vassal
, rather than the strong passion of a mistress, but Pedro is really the man, history describes, the love-fettered prince whom the tragedy of Inês’s death converted into the cruel tyrant. King Afonso
is little more than a shadow, and only meets Inês once, his son never; while, stranger still, Pedro and Inês never come on the stage together, and their love is merely narrated. Nevertheless, Ferreira merits all praise for choosing one of the most dramatic episodes in Portuguese history for his subject, and though it has since been handled by poets of renown in many different languages, none has been able to surpass the old master.
in pre-foundation Portugal.
was his favorite poet, erudition his muse, and his admiration of the classics made him disdain the popular poetry of the Old School (Escola Velha) represented by Gil Vicente
.
His national feeling would not allow him to write in Latin
or Spanish
, like most of his contemporaries, but his Portuguese is as Latinized as he could make it, and he even calls his poetical works, Poemas Lusitanos. Sá de Miranda had philosophized in the familiar redondilha, introduced the epistle
and founded the comedy of learning.
It was the beginning of a revolution, which Ferreira completed by abandoning the hen. decasyllable
for the Italian decasyllable, and by composing the noble and austere Roman poetry of his letters, odes
and elegies. It was all done of set purpose, for he was a reformer conscious of his mission and resolved to carry it out. The gross realism of the popular poetry, its lack of culture and its carelessness of form, offended his educated taste, and its picturesqueness and ingenuity made no appeal to him. It is not surprising, however, that though he earned the applause of men of letters, he failed to touch the hearts of his countrymen.
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and the foremost representative of the classical school, founded by Francisco de Sá de Miranda
Francisco de Sá de Miranda
Francisco de Sá de Miranda was a Portuguese poet of the Renaissance.-Life:Sá de Miranda was the son of a canon of Coimbra belonging to the ancient and noble family of Sa...
. His most considerable work, Castro, is the first tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
in Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, and the second in modern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an literature.
His life
Ferreira was a native of LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. His father held the post of escrivão de fazenda in the house of the Duke of Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
at Setúbal
Setúbal
Setúbal is the main city in Setúbal Municipality in Portugal with a total area of 172.0 km² and a total population of 118,696 inhabitants in the municipality. The city proper has 89,303 inhabitants....
. In 1547, he went to the University of Coimbra, and graduated with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
.
Ferreira took his doctor's degree on July 14, 1555, an event which was celebrated, according to custom, by a sort of Roman triumph
Roman triumph
The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...
, and he stayed on as a professor, finding Coimbra, with its picturesque environs, congenial to his poetical tastes and love of a country life.
He was intimate with princes, nobles and the most distinguished literary men of the time, such as the scholarly Diogo de Teive, and the poets Bernardes, Caminha and Corte-Real. In 1558, at the age of 29, he married D. Maria Pimentel. After a short and happy married life, his wife died.
On October 14, 1567, he became Desembargador da Casa do Civel, and had to leave the quiet of Coimbra for Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. His verses tell how he disliked the change, and how the bustle of the capital, then a great commercial emporium, made him sad and almost tongue-tied for poetry. The intrigues and moral twists of the courtiers and traders, among whom he was forced to live, hurt his fine sense of honor, and he felt his mental isolation more, because his friends were few and scattered in that great city which the discoveries and conquests of the Portuguese had made the centre of a world empire.
In 1569, a terrible epidemic of carbunculous fever broke out and carried off 50,000 inhabitants of Lisbon, and, on November 29, Ferreira, who had stayed there doing his duty when others fled; fell a victim.
His works
Ferreira wrote the TerentianTerentian
Saint Terentian was Bishop of Todi who was killed during the reign of Hadrian.-Biography:His legend states that before he was killed, his tongue was cut out. Then he was beheaded. His feast day is September 1.-External links:**...
prose comedy, Bristo in (1553), at the age of twenty-five, and dedicated it to Prince John in the name of the university. It is neither a comedy of character nor manners, but its vis comica lies in its plot and situations. The Cioso, a later product, may almost be called a comedy of character.
The death in 1554 of Prince John, the heir to the throne, drew from him, as from Camões
Luís de Camões
Luís Vaz de Camões is considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of Shakespeare, Vondel, Homer, Virgil and Dante. He wrote a considerable amount of lyrical poetry and drama but is best remembered for his epic work Os Lusíadas...
, Bernardes and Caminha, a poetical lament, which consisted of an elegy
Elegy
In literature, an elegy is a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.-History:The Greek term elegeia originally referred to any verse written in elegiac couplets and covering a wide range of subject matter, including epitaphs for tombs...
and two eclogues, imitative of Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
and Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
, and devoid of interest.
The year 1557 produced his sixth elegy, addressed to the son of the great Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque[p][n] was a Portuguese fidalgo, or nobleman, an admiral whose military and administrative activities as second governor of Portuguese India conquered and established the Portuguese colonial empire in the Indian Ocean...
, a poem of noble patriotism expressed in eloquent and sonorous verse.
The Sonnets
The sonnetSonnet
A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...
s forming the First Book in his collected works, date from 1552 and contain the history of his early love for an unknown lady. They seem to have been written in Coimbra or during vacations in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. The sonnets in the Second Book were inspired by his wife, and they are marked by that chastity
Chastity
Chastity refers to the sexual behavior of a man or woman acceptable to the moral standards and guidelines of a culture, civilization, or religion....
of sentiment, seriousness and ardent patriotism. The ninth sonnet of Book 2, written after her premature death, describes her end in moving words. This loss lent Ferreira's verse an added austerity, and the independence of his muse is remarkable when he addresses King Sebastian and reminds him of his duties as well as his rights.
Castro
Castro is Ferreira most considerable work, and the first tragedy in Portuguese, and the second in modern European literature. Though fashioned on the great models of the ancients, it has little plot or action, and the characters, except that of the prince, are ill-designed. It is a splendid poem, with a chorus which sings the sad fate of InêsInês de Castro
Inês Peres de Castro was a Galician noblewoman born of a Portuguese mother...
in musical odes, rich in feeling and grandeur of expression. His love is the chaste, timid affection of a wife and a vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
, rather than the strong passion of a mistress, but Pedro is really the man, history describes, the love-fettered prince whom the tragedy of Inês’s death converted into the cruel tyrant. King Afonso
Afonso IV of Portugal
Afonso IV , called the Brave , was the seventh king of Portugal and the Algarve from 1325 until his death. He was the only legitimate son of King Denis of Portugal by his wife Elizabeth of Aragon.-Biography:...
is little more than a shadow, and only meets Inês once, his son never; while, stranger still, Pedro and Inês never come on the stage together, and their love is merely narrated. Nevertheless, Ferreira merits all praise for choosing one of the most dramatic episodes in Portuguese history for his subject, and though it has since been handled by poets of renown in many different languages, none has been able to surpass the old master.
Other works
Ferreira also authored a brief epic poem called Historia de S.ta Comba dos Valles (History of Saint Comba of the Valleys), based on a religious legend of Lamas de Orelhão, Valpaços tracing to the Moorish occupationAl-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
in pre-foundation Portugal.
His ideals
Ferreira's ideal, as a poet, was to win the applause of the good, and, in the preface to his poems, he says, "I am content with this glory, that I have loved my land and my people." He was intimate with the aged Sá de Miranda, the founder of the classical school of which Ferreira became the foremost representative. HoraceHorace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
was his favorite poet, erudition his muse, and his admiration of the classics made him disdain the popular poetry of the Old School (Escola Velha) represented by Gil Vicente
Gil Vicente
Gil Vicente , called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal he is sometimes called the "Portuguese Plautus,"[3] often referred to as the "Father of Portuguese drama" and as one of Western literature's...
.
His national feeling would not allow him to write in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
or Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, like most of his contemporaries, but his Portuguese is as Latinized as he could make it, and he even calls his poetical works, Poemas Lusitanos. Sá de Miranda had philosophized in the familiar redondilha, introduced the epistle
Epistle
An epistle is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The letters in the New Testament from Apostles to Christians...
and founded the comedy of learning.
It was the beginning of a revolution, which Ferreira completed by abandoning the hen. decasyllable
Decasyllable
Decasyllable is a poetic meter of ten syllables used in poetic traditions of syllabic verse...
for the Italian decasyllable, and by composing the noble and austere Roman poetry of his letters, odes
Odes
Odes may refer to:*The plural of ode, a type of poem*Odes , a collection of poems by the Roman author Horace, circa 65 - 8 BC*Odes of Solomon, a pseudepigraphic book of the Bible*Book of Odes , a Deuterocanonical book of the Bible...
and elegies. It was all done of set purpose, for he was a reformer conscious of his mission and resolved to carry it out. The gross realism of the popular poetry, its lack of culture and its carelessness of form, offended his educated taste, and its picturesqueness and ingenuity made no appeal to him. It is not surprising, however, that though he earned the applause of men of letters, he failed to touch the hearts of his countrymen.
External links
- Catholic Encyclopedia article
- Castro. Tragedia, in Obras Completas (Full Ouvre), Volume 2, 1865 edition, in Google Books
- The tragedy of Ines de Castro, English translation of A Castro, in Google Books
- Historia de S.ta Comba dos Valles (sic), on a 1771 edition of the "Poemas Lusitanos, Volume 1", in Google Books