The sociopolitical poetry of Gil Vicente and Patativa do Assaré

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present a reading of the poetry of Patativa do Assaré and Gil Vicente, starting from a study of the sociopolitical character, based on the work of Antonio Candido, entitled Literatura e sociedade. Both poets are from different times and places, and they observed and experienced dramatic realities that impelled them to expose, in the form of poems or theatrical text, their deepest impressions and feelings, always using poetry. They were spokespersons for the people with whom they lived: one, in the punished backlands of northeastern Brazil; another, in the Portuguese court of the 16th century. Both present a poetics marked by antagonistic axes, with an emphasis on looking at the human being. Candido, in turn, seeks to focus his studies on various levels of the intersection between literature and society, showing, on one hand, the social aspects of literary texts and, on the other, the occurrence of these aspects in the works studied. Based on this premise, an analysis of some texts by the cearense and the portuguese is proposed, emphasizing the character of militancy, in their respective writings, against systems of oppression and silencing or exposing the ills of the society where they lived, constituting the emergence of dissonant voices. The present analysis is based on bibliographical research, in addition to theoretical references on sociopolitical issues, as well as material that composes the historical context.