The Lusiads by Luis Vaz de Camoes

Mariano Marcos State UniversityCOLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

Laoag City

LIT 105E: Masterpieces in World Literature

EPIC POEM: The Lusiadsby Luís Vaz de Camões

S.Y. 2015-2016

JESPER C. SILVABSEd III-A, English DR. BERT A. GAMIAO

Professor

_____________________________________________

BSEd III-A, English

Discover Me

Are you familiar about the game Hangaroo? This is a guessing game in which the player needs to choose a letter from the alphabet to unlock what is being asked. The usual targets for this guessing game are the names of people, places, things, events, etc. Here, the player will only be given five trials.

For this game, we will use the recent discovered places in the world as our target topic. A picture will be provided as a clue to help you unlock the name of the place that is to be solved.

Is the instruction clear? Are all minds now ready? Prepare then your wild guesses and let the discovery begin!

RECENT DISCOVERED PLACES

LIT 105E: Masterpieces in World Literature Page 2

The name behind the pen

RESOUNDING ACCLAIM FOR LUIS VAZ DE CAMÕES

“Camões’ mind was the product of Renaissance classicism and Portuguese imperialism.”

“He is really one of the first great chroniclers, having himself sailed most of the routes he describes rather than cobbling together tales like the Greek historians.”

“Camões is wholly, passionately present in most of what he wrote.”

“He manifests the poetic sensibility of a people grown by an ocean: befitting a sailing people, the distinction between brine and freshwater are central to his imagination.”

“Camões poem has something of the charm of the Odyssey and of the magnificence of the Aenied.”

“That famous poet Luis de Camões – who, speaking in absolutes, was the prince of them all – was a tall man with broad shoulders and reddish hair. His face was freckled and he was blind in one eye. He was a man of sharp mind, clear judgement and rare wit. He was well-read in the humanities, well-versed in the sciences, skilled at arms and valiant of spirit.”

- Anonymous, early 17th century memoirPeriod Portuguese RenaissanceGenre Epic PoetryLiterary Criticism Classicism

Luis 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 The Lusiads (Os Lusiadas).


Discover with Camões

The life behind the epic

Luis Vaz de Camões was the only child of Simaõ Vaz de Camões and wife Ana de Sá de Macedo. He belongs to a Portuguese family at minor nobility.

Camões as a travelerPLACE EVENTCoimbra He is assumed to have studied at the University of Coimbra.Morocco He lost an eye during combat as a soldier for the Portuguese army.

India He served as a soldier for three years after he held administrative posts.Arabia and the East

African CoastsHe was on military expeditions launched from western, Portuguese-ruled India.

Macao He was an employee of the Portuguese government.Mozambique He had no funds enough to continue the journey back home.

Henry the NavigatorIts curiosity as well as its economic considerations caused Portugal to look seaward from as early

as the end of the thirteenth century. Among other interests, Portugal wanted to find Prester John, a mythical Christian leader who is thought to be living anywhere from northeastern Africa to Asia. Establishing contact with such a mysterious Christian leader had long intrigued most of Europe, for he would be an important ally in the Christian crusade against the infidel.

In actual practice, Portuguese overseas expansion dates from at least 1415, when King John I attacked and conquered Ceuta on the northwest coast of Africa. The new possession would be as important as a symbol of the Portuguese presence in Africa as it was a trading post. King John’s renowned son Henry the Navigator (1394-1460) had participated in the conquest of Ceuta. Although he did not personally do much sailing, Henry showed avid interest in the theory and practice of navigation, especially during the last 20 years of his life from atop the Sagres promontory in southern Portugal. Gradually, he fastened on to the idea of finding a sea route to India.

Why India?Across the Indian Ocean to Calicut, India, is a place that a number of historians have seen as

the defining moment of the beginning of modernity. It shrank the globe, thereafter yoking Asia inseparably with Western Europe. It pulled commerce out of the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.

Christian and MoorsThe Christians had fought Moors for centuries. In 1492, the Christians were expelled from

neighboring Granada in Spain. Over the years up to the time of Camões, Portugal had both initiated crusades and taken part in campaigns led by Christian allies against the Moors.


Sailing back to History

One must remember that 15th century evangelical zeal often took the form of a crusade. Crusaders were much more Christian soldiers than preachers. They used their swords more readily than their Bibles. This form of evangelization sometimes became a “just war” against infidels. The idea was to eliminate resistance, even by bloodshed, establish the Church, and evangelize the inhabitants.

RESOUNDING ACCLAIM FOR THE LUSIADS

“The treasure of Portugal.”

“The Lusiads is Portugal’s national epic and an Aenied of imperialism.”

“Camões’ incorporation of Roman gods and goddesses into this tale of nautical adventure accords da Gama a heroic stature and imbues his journey, which is presented as the culmination of Portuguese

history, with an aura of mythic and legendary.”

“The Lusiads is a poem of national destiny, for Camões sees Portugal as the force that will bring Christianity and civilization to the rich lands of the East.”

“Camões combines classical pagan and Christian figures in a way typical of much Renaissance literature.”

“The Lusiads comprises of fantastical creatures, ocean journeys, moralistic sermons, and national foundations – in other words, the Gilgamesh, Iliad, Mahabharata, and Aeneid all rolled into one.”

Written in Homeric fashion, The Lusiads (Os Lusiadas) focuses mainly on a fantastical interpretation of the Portuguese voyages of discovery during the 15 th and 16th centuries. It is often regarded as Portugal’s national epic, much in the way as Virgil’s Aenied was for the Ancient Romans, or Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey for the Ancient Greeks. The influence of his masterpiece The Lusiads is so profound that Portuguese is called the “language of Camões.” It was first printed in 1572, three years after the author returned from the Indies.

Why The Lusiads?The poem’s title derives from the name ‘Lusitania’, the Latin name for Portugal. Since Lusus is

the mythical and eponymous hero of Lusitania, the title indicates that Camões is concerned with Portuguese history and achievements.

Internal structureThe poem consists of ten cantos, with a variable number of stanzas (1102 in total), written in the

decasyllabic ottava rima in a total of 8816 lines of verse. The word ‘decasyllable’ means a line of a verse made up of ten syllables while the word ‘ottava rima’ means a verse form made up of eight lines in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme ABABABCC. The rhyme scheme, which is of Italian origin and used by Ariosto in his Orlando furioso, was commonly used in Renaissance epic poetry. It is a flowing meter that allows the narrative to move smoothly, and the long, assonant rhymes have a kind of lulling quality.

The poem is made up of four sections: An introduction (proposition – presentation of the theme and heroes of the poem)


An EPIC Discovery

Invocation – a prayer to the Tagides, the nymphs of the Tagus; A dedication – (to Sebastian of Portugal), followed by narration (the epic itself) An epilogue, (beginning at Canto X, stanza 145)

The middle section contains the narration and a variety of scenes. The most important part of The Lusiads, the arrival in India, was placed at the point in the poem that divides the work according to the golden section at the beginning of Canto VII.

TRIVIADuring Camões’ return journey, near the Mekong River along the Cambodian coast, he was

shipwrecked, saving his manuscript but losing his Chinese lover, Dinamene. His shipwreck survival in the Mekong Delta was enhanced by the legendary detail that he succeeded in swimming ashore while holding aloft the manuscript of his still-unfinished epic.


Elements of an Epic“The Lusiads”

The vast majority of the narration in The Lusiads consists of grandiloquent speeches by various orators.

OMNISCIENT NARRATION

Vasco da Gama is the chief character in The Lusiads, but he is not its hero. The true heroes of this patriotic epic are The Lusiads, the sons of Lusus – in other words, the Portuguese.

For a hero in the Christian epic to attain a legendary degree of glory, there had to be an equally legendary “evil” to vanquish. The anti-Christian Moors of the 16th century easily filled that role.

LEGENDARY HERO

The Lusus are beings of national importance and historical or legendary significance. The explorer Vasco da Gama is the discoverer of sea route to India and the first European to sail around the Cap of Good Hope at Africa’s southern tip.

Both their wanderings and their face of extreme odds are deeds of great valor.

SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH OR VALOR

The setting of The Lusiads involves a large number of places like Melinde, East Africa, India and the Isle of Love.

MULTIPLE SETTINGS

Venus favors the Portuguese while Bacchus opposes. Mars intervenes passionately on Venus side and Jupiter states his support of the voyage. Neptune, on the other hand, aids Bacchus in failing the journey of the Portuguese.

SUPERNATURAL INVOLVEMENT

The use of actual historical events was used as the basis of the story.

Although Virgilian in its broad scope, The Lusiads is Homeric in style. It was written in the decasyllabic ottava rima, which has the rhyme scheme ABABABCC.

This heroic poem, which has most Christian and historical subject matter, frequently uses the elements taken from pagan mythology to enhance the epic stature of the Portuguese nation.

EPIC STYLE OF WRITING

Vasco da Gama and his crew have already rounded the Cape of Good Hope. The epic begins already on their voyage to India.

MEDIAS RES

A prayer to the Tagides and the nymphs of the Tagus.

TRIVIA It was rumored that Camões fell

in love with Catherine of Ataide,

INVOCATION

The vast majority of the narration in The Lusiads consists of grandiloquent speeches by various orators: the main

narrator; Vasco da Gama who is recognized as eloquent captain; Paulo

EXTENDED, FORMAL SPEECHES

Characters Description

Vasco da Gama

He is a Portuguese sailor and explorer. He is chosen to head the expedition that first rounds Africa’s Cape of Good Hope to find a sea route to Asia.

Jupiter

He is the chief of the gods. He announces that the Fates have decreed that the Portuguese expedition shall succeed in its mission.


Vasco da Gama and his crew have already rounded the Cape of Good Hope. The epic begins already on their voyage to India.

A prayer to the Tagides and the nymphs of the Tagus.

TRIVIA It was rumored that Camões fell

in love with Catherine of Ataide,

The vast majority of the narration in The Lusiads consists of grandiloquent speeches by various orators: the main

narrator; Vasco da Gama who is recognized as eloquent captain; Paulo

This was evident in the introduction of The Lusiads in which it presents the theme as well as the heroes of the

poem.

CATALOGUES OF WARRIORS, ARMIES, ETC.

The Characters

Venus

She is a goddess friendly to the Portuguese. She takes their side against Bacchus and helps them in their adventures. She saves them from storms and ambushes and provides them with a resting place on their way home. She gives da Gama a vision of Portugal’s future greatness.

Mars

Mars is a war god who sides with Venus on the side of the Portuguese.

Bacchus

He is the patron god of Asia. He tries to prevent the Portuguese from success in their expedition. He enlists the aid of Neptune in his efforts against them.

The Spirit of the Cape of Good Hope

He is the spirit who appeared to da Gama. He says he was once a Titan named Adamastor. He has been made into a range of mountains forming the Cape of Good Hope for his pursuit of a nymph.

The king of Mombassa

He is an African monarch to whom da Gama relates his adventures and the history of Portugal up to that time.

The emperor of Malabar

He is an Asiatic monarch who welcomes the Portuguese to Asia and arranges for them to trade their goods for spices and other Oriental products.


Mercury

He is a god who guides the Portuguese to Mombassa

Neptune

He is the god of the sea who, at the request of Bacchus, sends storms to destroy the ships of the Portuguese. Venus saves the ships.


The Cycle of an Epic Hero’s Journey“The Lusiads”

Status Quo The epic begins with a dedication section with the poet paying homage to Virgil and Homer. The first line of this epic mimics the opening line of Aenied, and pays a hopeful tribute to the young king Sebastiao.

Call to Adventure The people of Lusus have gone on to discover new worlds and impose its law in the concert of the nations. Jupiter says that their history proves it because they have emerged victorious against the Moors and Castilians.

AssistanceAt a council of the gods on Olympus in Greece, Venus favors the Portuguese while Bacchus speaks against them. Mars intervenes passionately on Venus side and Jupiter states his support of the voyage. Neptune, on the other hand, aids Bacchus in failing the journey of the Portuguese.

Departure The Lusiads has gone on a voyage to discover new worlds. The Roman gods and goddesses watch over the voyage lead by Vasco da Gama.

TrialsTwo scouts, who were sent by da Gama to go to the east, are fooled by a fake altar created by Bacchus into thinking there are Christians

Resolution The sailors again set sail for home.

Recently, the Philippine Department of Tourism has made a new tourism campaign which aimed to strengthen the tourism industry in the country. This campaign is dubbed as “It’s More Fun in the Philippines.”

Since the emergent and over-arching theme of The Lusiads is about the spreading of Portuguese’s culture to Indians, the task will be about on influencing other people.

For this activity, you pretend that you have a foreign friend. Convince him/her to visit here in the Philippines through a friendly letter. The content of your letter should be connected to the campaign “It’s More Fun in the Philippines.” The format as well as the criterion will be as follows:

FORMAT

Name: __________________ Course Title: _________________________Section: _________________ Schedule: ___________________________

Address of MMSU-CTECityDate

Dear (name) ,

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________.

Your friend,(signature)(FIRST NAME OR PEN NAME ONLY)


Discover Philippines!

TrialsTwo scouts, who were sent by da Gama to go to the east, are fooled by a fake altar created by Bacchus into thinking there are Christians

Areas of EvaluationFriendly Letter to a Foreigner

Very Much5

Much4

Not so Much3

Not at All2

1. The letter follows the given format.2. The writer’s voice engages reader’s interest in a

lively fashion.3. The reasons are strong and reliable.4. The reasons are stated with facts and are

considerable.5. The ideas are presented in a clear, logical

manner.6. The content is relevant to the given topic.7. The letter has a clear purpose, sound reasoning

and power to influence others.8. The sentences are grammatically-correct; words

are appropriately and effectively constructed.9. The handwriting is readable and pleasing to the

eyes.10. The letter was passed on time.

Total:Total Score:

Interpretation:Score50-43 - Excellent42-35 - Very Good32-48 - Good27-20 - Needs Improvement

The letter will be placed on a yellow paper. Enjoy writing!

References :

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2014/01/15/newly-discovered-wonders-world/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Os_Lus%C3%ADadashttp://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Luis_de_Camoes.aspxhttp://www.rugusavay.com/the-lusiads-summary/http://www.enotes.com/topics/lusiads/charactershttps://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lu%C3%ADs_de_Cam%C3%B5es


Education

The Lusiads by Luis Vaz de Camoes