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O Sentimento dum Ocidental
- GenresPoetry
84 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1880
44 people want to read
About the author
Cesário Verde
46 books71 followersCesário Verde (February 25, 1855 – July 19, 1886) was a 19th-century Portuguese poet. His work, while mostly ignored during his lifetime and not well known outside of the country’s borders even today, is generally considered to be amongst the most important in Portuguese poetry and is widely taught in schools. This is partly due to his being championed by many other authors after his death, notably Fernando Pessoa.
Cesário Verde is frequently hailed as both one of Portugal’s finest urban poets and one of the country’s greatest describers of the countryside. Thus, Verde’s poems (always written in the alexandrine structure) are mostly split into “city poems” and “countryside poems” (the few that escape these two categories dealing with love, often scorned.)
Cesário Verde’s city poems are often described as bohemian, decadent and socially aware. He is hailed as Portugal’s first great realist poet, frequently dealing with scenes of poverty, disease and moral decay. His poems also frequently deal with spleen and ennui. In “O Sentimento Dum Ocidental” (“The Feelings Of A Westerner”), Verde captures the atmosphere of decadence then growing in Portuguese society, comparing the past discoveries and expeditions of Portugueses sailors, as well as the works of national poet Luís de Camões, to the present. He also expresses a longing to experience a larger world beyond the city, pining for “Madrid, Paris, Berlim, S. Petersburgo, o mundo!” (“Madrid, Paris, Berlin, St. Petersburg, the world!”)
While the city is corrupt and decaying, the countryside in Verde’s poetry is described as lively, fertile and full of beauty. Even the growing industrialization of agriculture isn’t seen as a worrying factor
[...]
The autobiographical poem “Nós” gives an idyllic description of Verde’s youth living on the farm – latter poems show the countryside as the peaceful setting for picnics, and as an opportunity for long walks with female companionship. Whilst in his “city” poems Verde describes spleen and disease, in his descriptions of the countryside the protagonists are often strong, happy and robust.
In his poetry, Cesário Verde references Balzac, Baudelaire and Herbert Spencer. His letters also contain quotes from Victor Hugo, Flaubert, Taine and Quinet. On a national level, the authors referenced are Luís de Camões and João de Deus.
Although he was never very celebrated during his lifetime, Verde did socialize with many of the country’s foremost literary figures (some of these meetings may be attributed to Verde’s republican sympathies, then highly in vogue amongst the country’s intellectuals.) Fialho de Almeida is said to have greatly admired him, and other acquaintances include Guerra Junqueiro, Ramalho Ortigão, Gomes Leal, João de Deus, Abel Botelho and the painter Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro.
After his death, Verde’s reputation has steadily grown. He was particularly embraced by Portuguese modernists such as Mário de Sá-Carneiro and Fernando Pessoa (whose heteronyms Álvaro de Campos and Alberto Caeiro praise Verde.) More modern admirers include Eugénio de Andrade and Adolfo Casais Monteiro
During his lifetime, Cesário Verde published around forty poems in various papers. After his death, his friend Silva Pinto published “The Book Of Cesário Verde”, collecting his poems. The first edition was published in April 1887 – two hundred copies were printed, to be dispensed as gifts only. The compilation was only made available commercially in 1901. More recent editions have respected the order in which the poems were first compiled, but added others that weren’t included in the first selection. The book now includes Verde’s entire poetic oeuvre.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ces%C3%A...
Cesário Verde is frequently hailed as both one of Portugal’s finest urban poets and one of the country’s greatest describers of the countryside. Thus, Verde’s poems (always written in the alexandrine structure) are mostly split into “city poems” and “countryside poems” (the few that escape these two categories dealing with love, often scorned.)
Cesário Verde’s city poems are often described as bohemian, decadent and socially aware. He is hailed as Portugal’s first great realist poet, frequently dealing with scenes of poverty, disease and moral decay. His poems also frequently deal with spleen and ennui. In “O Sentimento Dum Ocidental” (“The Feelings Of A Westerner”), Verde captures the atmosphere of decadence then growing in Portuguese society, comparing the past discoveries and expeditions of Portugueses sailors, as well as the works of national poet Luís de Camões, to the present. He also expresses a longing to experience a larger world beyond the city, pining for “Madrid, Paris, Berlim, S. Petersburgo, o mundo!” (“Madrid, Paris, Berlin, St. Petersburg, the world!”)
While the city is corrupt and decaying, the countryside in Verde’s poetry is described as lively, fertile and full of beauty. Even the growing industrialization of agriculture isn’t seen as a worrying factor
[...]
The autobiographical poem “Nós” gives an idyllic description of Verde’s youth living on the farm – latter poems show the countryside as the peaceful setting for picnics, and as an opportunity for long walks with female companionship. Whilst in his “city” poems Verde describes spleen and disease, in his descriptions of the countryside the protagonists are often strong, happy and robust.
In his poetry, Cesário Verde references Balzac, Baudelaire and Herbert Spencer. His letters also contain quotes from Victor Hugo, Flaubert, Taine and Quinet. On a national level, the authors referenced are Luís de Camões and João de Deus.
Although he was never very celebrated during his lifetime, Verde did socialize with many of the country’s foremost literary figures (some of these meetings may be attributed to Verde’s republican sympathies, then highly in vogue amongst the country’s intellectuals.) Fialho de Almeida is said to have greatly admired him, and other acquaintances include Guerra Junqueiro, Ramalho Ortigão, Gomes Leal, João de Deus, Abel Botelho and the painter Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro.
After his death, Verde’s reputation has steadily grown. He was particularly embraced by Portuguese modernists such as Mário de Sá-Carneiro and Fernando Pessoa (whose heteronyms Álvaro de Campos and Alberto Caeiro praise Verde.) More modern admirers include Eugénio de Andrade and Adolfo Casais Monteiro
During his lifetime, Cesário Verde published around forty poems in various papers. After his death, his friend Silva Pinto published “The Book Of Cesário Verde”, collecting his poems. The first edition was published in April 1887 – two hundred copies were printed, to be dispensed as gifts only. The compilation was only made available commercially in 1901. More recent editions have respected the order in which the poems were first compiled, but added others that weren’t included in the first selection. The book now includes Verde’s entire poetic oeuvre.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ces%C3%A...
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 10, 2025
Nunca iria ler se não fosse pela escola, honestamente
February 17, 2013
The Feeling of a Westerner is the most celebrated serie of poems by the author. This serie of poems is part of the Book of Cesário Verde ("Livro de Cesário Verde" in Portuguese) in the original edition.
It is regarded as maybe the most extraordinary nineteenth-century poem in the Portuguese language. It chronicles the poet's panoramic perception of the city of Lisbon during a long stroll that occupies him from one late afternoon to the early morning hours of the following day. As he surveys Lisbon's bustling city life on the verge of modernity, he also reviews Portugal's history and imagines its future in terms at once utopian and dystopian. A must read.
It is regarded as maybe the most extraordinary nineteenth-century poem in the Portuguese language. It chronicles the poet's panoramic perception of the city of Lisbon during a long stroll that occupies him from one late afternoon to the early morning hours of the following day. As he surveys Lisbon's bustling city life on the verge of modernity, he also reviews Portugal's history and imagines its future in terms at once utopian and dystopian. A must read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews