“Arms and the Heroes, who from Lisbon’s shore,
Thro’ seas where sail was never spread before,”
Luís de Camões is a master of verse and an icon of Portuguese culture, his influence is so pervasive that the language of the Lusophone world has been referred to as the “language of Camões;” furthermore, his significance is so universal that the date of his death (10 June) is celebrated as Portugal’s national day (officially known as the Day of Portugal, Camões, and the Portuguese Communities).
Academics believe that a significant quantity of de Camões’s biography is dubious at best, he is so beloved that much of it originates in folklore; however, what is confidently known is that he was a 16th century Portuguese poet, courtier, sailor, and explorer.
Despite his contemporary approbation in Portugal, like Dante, de Camões wrote much of his oeuvre (including the subject of this spotlight) whilst exiled from his beloved homeland (Dante anywhere but Florence, de Camões in Macau).
His opus, Os Lusíadas (1572) is the pre-eminent example of Portuguese verse ‒ A Homeric epic narrative poem composed of 10 cantos and 1102 stanzas of ottava rima verse ((ABABABCC) in a style familiar to readers of Boccaccio), it recounts a fantastical interpretation of the 15th and 16th century Portuguese voyage of discovery, celebrating the vast maritime accomplishments of fellow Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.
Part travel book, part great adventure, the poem focuses on Vasco da Gama’s voyage to India by way of the Cape of Good Hope whilst also featuring Greco-Roman gods, nymphs, and a spattering of Abrahamic theological elements lifted from Christian and Muslim beliefs.
If you enjoy Renaissance literature and/or epic narrative poetry, particularly the works of Homer, Virgil, or Dante, you will appreciate Os Lusíadas ‒ de Camões comes across as a learned devotee of epic poetry with his inspiration from the Odyssey, Iliad, and the Aeneid on full display. Like the aforementioned works, the difficulty and ultimately the reader’s experience of the piece can be significantly affected by the translation ‒ particularly intelligible and enjoyable translations (to the contemporary palate) include William C. Atkinson’s (1952) and Landeg White’s (1997).
Beyond being a brilliant read, Os Lusíadas is an essential element of Lusophone literature; it is the cornerstone of Portuguese national poetry and revered across Lusofonia in a way analogous to the Anglophonic appreciation of Shakespeare and the Germanic appreciation of von Goethe. An epic par excellence, it truly is a sin that Os Lusíadas is the least well-known of the epic poems. For your own sake, give it a read.
“Oh may that man that hath the Muses scorn’d
Alive, nor dead, be ever of a Muse adorn’d.”
This review of Os Lusíadas by Luís de Camões is the second instalment of a fortnightly series called 50 Books. The series shines a spotlight on classical literature from throughout history and all over the world. If you have suggestions for future instalments comment and let me know.
Next time: The Stalinist era classic, The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.
Words by Luke Horwitz
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