The Language of Parnasianism is classic, objective, rational, impersonal, refined, descriptive and realistic.
She seeks aesthetic perfection and the cult of form, thus using rare vocabulary and resources such as metrification, versification, fixed poetic structures ( sonnet , for example), rich, rare and perfect rhymes.
Parnassianism
The Parnassianism represented a poetic movement that emerged in Europe from the nineteenth century.
In Brazil, the initial landmark of Parnasianism was the publication of the work “ Fanfarras ”, by Teófilo Dias (1889), remaining until 1922, when the Week of Modern Art begins or the beginning of the modernist movement.
With an anti-romantic content, Parnassian poetry rescues rationalism thus moving away from sentimentality as well as the dreamy and idealistic phase of the previous period: Romanticism.
In this way, in Parnasianism the beauty of forms, the rigor of metrics and aesthetics prevail with emphasis on classic themes linked to mythology where “art for art” becomes its main motto.
Main Representatives
The main Brazilian writers of the Parnassian movement and who together formed the “Parnassian Triad” are:
- Olavo Bilac (1865-1918): born in Rio de Janeiro, Olavo Bilac is one of the greatest representatives of the Parnassian movement in Brazil. Considered “Prince of Brazilian Poets”, he became known for his sonnets. Of his literary work, the following deserve mention: Poetry (1888), Milky Way (1888), Chronicles and Novels (1894).
- Raimundo Corrêa (1859-1911): poet from Maranhão, Raimundo Correia was one of the greatest representatives of Parnasianism, although his work has romantic aspects. Of his poetic work, the following deserve special mention: First Dreams (1879), Verses and Versions (1887) and Poetry (1898).
- Alberto de Oliveira (1857-1937): born in the interior of Rio de Janeiro (Saquarema), Alberto de Oliveira completes the triad of the greatest Parnassian writers. In his first book “Canções Românticas”, published in 1878, the romantic influence is still notorious. Of his work deserve to be highlighted: Meridionals (1884), Verses and Rhymes (1895) and Poetry (1900).
Parnasian Poetry: Examples
To better understand the language of Parnassianism, here are some examples:
Sonnet “ Língua Portuguesa ” by Olavo Bilac
Last flower of Lazio, uncultivated and beautiful,
You are, at one time, splendor and grave:
Native gold, which in the impure denim
The crude mine between the gravel sailing …
I love you so, unknown and obscure.
High-pitched tuba, simple lyre,
That you have the horn and the hiss of
the procela , And the attraction of longing and tenderness!
I love your wildness and your scent
Of virgin jungles and wide ocean!
I love you, O rude and painful language,
in which from the maternal voice I heard: “my son!”,
and in which Camões wept, in bitter exile,
genius without luck and love without shine!
Sonnet “ As Pombas ” by Raimundo Correia
Go the first awakened dove …
Go another one … another one … finally dozens
of doves go from the dovecotes, just
bloody and fresh streak at dawn …
And in the afternoon, when the rigid north
blows, the lofts again, serene,
Flapping their wings, shaking their feathers,
They all come back in flocks and flocks …
Also from the hearts where they button,
Dreams, one by one, swift fly,
As doves doves fly;
In the blue of adolescence the wings release, they
flee … But to the lofts the doves return,
And they do not return to the hearts …
Sonnet “ A Vingança da Porta ” by Alberto de Oliveira
It was an old habit he had:
entering the door with the doorfronts
– “What did this door do to you?” the woman came
and questioned … Him, gritting his teeth:
– “Nothing! Bring dinner.” – But at night he was
calm; happy, her
daughter’s innocent eyes see her and her little head
strokes her, laughing, with rough shaking hands.
Once, when he returned to the house, when he was
raising the knocker, his heart said
– “Come in more slowly …” He stops, hesitating …
In that hinge the old door creaks,
laughs, opens wide. And he sees
the woman in the room as crazy and the daughter dead.