Luís de Camões, Os Lusíadas [The Lusiads]

Kenneth David Jackson (Yale University)

Ed. by Stuart Green, University of Leeds
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.6.3.00: Portuguese Writing and Culture, 700-present.
Vol. editors: Stuart Green (University of Leeds), Duncan Wheeler (University of Leeds)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1572

Places

Portugal (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Epic
Poem

Resources

Os Lusíadas, published in Lisbon in 1572, is an epic poem in ten cantos written in decasyllabic ottava rima with rhyme scheme ABABABCC by Luís de Camões (1524?-1580) and considered one of the foremost works of world literature. Prime sources for its study are Manuel Faria e Sousa’s commented edition (Madrid, 1639; rpt. Lusíadas de Luís de Camões, Comentadas por Manuel de Faria e Sousa, Introdução de Jorge de Sena, Lisboa, 1972) and the recent Dicionário de Luís de Camões compiled by Vítor Aguiar e Silva (Lisbon, 2011). The title, “Lusíadas”, is a neologism referring to the deeds of the Portuguese people. C.W. Bowra compares the epic with Virgil, Tasso, and Milton (From Virgil to Milton, …

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3166 words

Citation: Jackson, Kenneth David. "Os Lusíadas". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 February 2014 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=31967, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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