Brazilian Tales

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, New Age, History, Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book Brazilian Tales by Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto, Library of Alexandria
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto ISBN: 9781465602282
Publisher: Library of Alexandria Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto
ISBN: 9781465602282
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint:
Language: English
The noted Brazilian critic, José Verissimo, in a short but important essay on the deficiencies of his country's letters, has expressed serious doubt as to whether there exists a genuinely Brazilian literature. "I do not know," he writes, "whether the existence of an entirely independent literature is possible without an entirely independent language." In this sense Verissimo would deny the existence of a Swiss, or a Belgian, literature. In this sense, too, it was no doubt once possible, with no small measure of justification, to deny the existence of an American, as distinguished from an English, literature. Yet, despite the subtle psychic bonds that link identity of speech to similarity of thought, the environment (which helps to shape pronunciation as well as vocabulary and the language itself) is, from the standpoint of literature, little removed from language as a determining factor. Looking at the question, however, from the purely linguistic standpoint, it is important to remember that the Spanish of Spanish America is more different from the parent tongue than is the English of this country from that of the mother nation. Similar changes have taken place in the Portuguese spoken in Brazil. Yet who would now pretend, on the basis of linguistic similarity, to say that there is no United States literature as distinguished from English literature? After all, is it not national life, as much as national language, that makes literature? And by an inversion of Verissimo's standard may we not come face to face with a state of affairs in which different literatures exist within the same tongue? Indeed, is not such a conception as the "great American novel" rendered quite futile in the United States by the fact that from the literary standpoint we are several countries rather than one?
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
The noted Brazilian critic, José Verissimo, in a short but important essay on the deficiencies of his country's letters, has expressed serious doubt as to whether there exists a genuinely Brazilian literature. "I do not know," he writes, "whether the existence of an entirely independent literature is possible without an entirely independent language." In this sense Verissimo would deny the existence of a Swiss, or a Belgian, literature. In this sense, too, it was no doubt once possible, with no small measure of justification, to deny the existence of an American, as distinguished from an English, literature. Yet, despite the subtle psychic bonds that link identity of speech to similarity of thought, the environment (which helps to shape pronunciation as well as vocabulary and the language itself) is, from the standpoint of literature, little removed from language as a determining factor. Looking at the question, however, from the purely linguistic standpoint, it is important to remember that the Spanish of Spanish America is more different from the parent tongue than is the English of this country from that of the mother nation. Similar changes have taken place in the Portuguese spoken in Brazil. Yet who would now pretend, on the basis of linguistic similarity, to say that there is no United States literature as distinguished from English literature? After all, is it not national life, as much as national language, that makes literature? And by an inversion of Verissimo's standard may we not come face to face with a state of affairs in which different literatures exist within the same tongue? Indeed, is not such a conception as the "great American novel" rendered quite futile in the United States by the fact that from the literary standpoint we are several countries rather than one?

More books from Library of Alexandria

Cover of the book Phallic Worship by Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto
Cover of the book Frederica and Her Guardians: The Perils of Orphanhood by Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto
Cover of the book The Mystery of Murray Davenport: A Story of New York at the Present Day by Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto
Cover of the book MyThen en Legenden van Egypte by Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto
Cover of the book Les Voyages Extraordinaires: Couronnés Par L'Académie Française by Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto
Cover of the book Arria Marcella: Souvenir de Pompéi by Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto
Cover of the book B. C. 30,000 by Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto
Cover of the book The Masnavi I Ma'navi by Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto
Cover of the book The Mormon Puzzle and How to Solve It by Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto
Cover of the book A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature by Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto
Cover of the book Platero Y Yo by Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto
Cover of the book Washington and His Colleagues: A Chronicle of the Rise and Fall of Federalism by Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto
Cover of the book Narrative of Travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa, in the Seventeenth Century (Complete) by Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto
Cover of the book Voyage en Espagne by Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto
Cover of the book The Amateur Diplomat: A Novel by Medeiros e Albuquerque & Machado de Assis & Carmen Dolores & Coelho Netto
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy