Sagaz observador, Gil Vicente criou tipos sociais capazes de nos fazer rir e refletir, ao mesmo tempo. Nesta coletânea, você vai encontrar autos e farsas bastante representativas da obra vicentina. Prepare-se para descobrir que, mesmo quase cinco séculos depois, muita coisa ainda soa bastante familiar…
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" and often referred to as the "Father of Portuguese drama." Vicente worked in Portuguese as much as he worked in Spanish and is thus, with Juan del Encina, considered joint-father of Spanish drama.
Vicente was attached to the courts of the Portuguese kings Manuel I and John III. He rose to prominence as a playwright largely on account of the influence of Queen Dowager Leonor, who noticed him as he participated in court dramas and subsequently commissioned him to write his first theatrical work.
He may also have been identical to an accomplished goldsmith of the same name, creator of the famous monstrance of Belém, and master of rhetoric of King Manuel I.
His plays and poetry, written in both Portuguese and Spanish, were a reflection of the changing times during the transition from Middle Ages to Renaissance and created a balance between the former time of rigid mores and hierarchical social structure and the new society in which this order was undermined.
While many of Vicente's works were composed to celebrate religious and national festivals or to commemorate events in the life of the royal family, others draw upon popular culture to entertain, and often to critique, Portuguese society of his day.
Though some of his works were later suppressed by the Inquisition, causing his fame to wane, he is now recognised as one of the principal figures of the Portuguese Renaissance.
Autos Inspired by the religious theatre of the Middle Ages, in the mysteries, miracles and moralities, they contain a moralizing intention and metaphorical characters (angels, demons, etc.) that are personifications of human virtues and defects.
Hoaxes Inspired by profane (non-religious) theatre, they aim to characterize distinct types of Portuguese society in simple episodes or more complex narratives in the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Auto da Barca do Inferno It represented for the first time in 1517, Gil Vicente's play is part of a trilogy in which we witness a parade of souls of the dead about to embark for eternity. The titles of the pieces indicate the possible destinations of the trip: Auto da Barca do Inferno, Auto da Barca do Purgatório and Auto da Barca da Glória. In the first play, the dead confronted with the Devil, who, with fine irony (he is a very good-natured devil with a fabulous presence of spirit), presents why they should board his boat, which goes to the lost land. All resist and turn to the Angel, who guards the ship of Paradise. In a solemn tone, the Angel shows almost everyone (there are only exceptions in two cases) that their path is hopeless hell, given the life they led. And who are the dead? They are mythological figures representing social classes or categories. Such as the Hidalgo, arrogant and false, the Onzeneiro (usurer), the exploiter of others, the Shoemaker, thief of the customers. The friar, who his lover accompanies, the Alcoviteira (procuress), who provided girls for men of money and power. The Jew, against whom even the Devil shows prevention, the Corregidor (judge), pompous and corrupt, the Prosecutor, dishonest as the judge, the Hanged Man, who believed that the way he died guaranteed him to go to heaven. Only the Silly, exploited and suffering peasant and the Angel accepts four Knights who died in defence of the faith of Christ. In this parade of souls, we have a broad critical picture of Portuguese society at the time, presented in verses of an enormous nook, as they are highly refined and do not deviate from the language of the time in its various records. For these reasons, by critics of importance, Gil Vicente is considered the most original poet in Portugal and the most remarkable European playwright of his time.
Deste livro só li a introdução, o teatro "Farsa da Inês Pereira" e as Notas finais, ou seja um total de 104 páginas. Nunca tive grande vontade de ler este teatro mas como estava a estudar esse texto acabei por decidir ler. Não gostei, esta é a realidade. Mas como é um grande nome da literatura portuguesa nunca poderia dar menos de 2 estrelas.
É impressionante a actualidade, não só dos temas, mas das personagens-tipo de Gil Vicente. O teatro vicentino mergulhou fundo no âmago da realidade portuguesa de quinhentos, diria mais, no âmago da alma portuguesa. Tal como afirmou Agostinho da Silva, há um antes e um depois de mestre Gil, e o seu peso é tanto maior quanto o teatro nacional se obscureceu durante muito tempo após a sua partida, se é que recuperou pujança dos Autos. A edição não desvirtua o verso original assim como a ortografia da época, o que só a favorece. Pelo preço, vale a pena.
Tal vez no fue mi momento para leerlo, leí poco del libro pero no disfruté nada. Probablemente más adelante le de una oportunidad y me termine gustando, sin embargo, por el momento puedo decir que no lo disfruté.