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Bernardo Joaquim da Silva Guimarães (; August 15, 1825 – March 10, 1884) was a Brazilian poet and novelist. He is the author of the famous romances '' A Escrava Isaura'' and '' O Seminarista''. He also introduced to
Brazilian poetry Brazilian literature is the literature written in the Portuguese language by Brazilians or in Brazil, including works written prior to the country's independence in 1822. Throughout its early years, literature from Brazil followed the literary t ...
the ''verso bestialógico'' (, roughly ''silly verse''), also referred to as ''pantagruélico'' (in a reference to Rabelais's character
Pantagruel ''The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel'' (french: La vie de Gargantua et de Pantagruel) is a pentalogy of novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais, telling the adventures of two giants, Gargantua ( , ) and his son Pantagruel ...
) — poems whose verses are very nonsensical, although very metrical. Under the ''verso bestialógico'', he wrote polemical erotic verses, such as "O Elixir do Pajé" (''The Witchdoctor's Elixir'') and "A Origem do Mênstruo" (''The Origin of Menstruation''). A non-erotic poem written in ''verso bestialógico'' is "Eu Vi dos Polos o Gigante Alado" (''From the Poles I Saw the Winged Giant''). He is patron of the fifth chair of the
Brazilian Academy of Letters The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) ( English: ''Brazilian Academy of Letters'') is a Brazilian literature, literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its found ...
.


Biography

Bernardo Joaquim da Silva Guimarães was born in the city of
Ouro Preto Ouro Preto (, ''Black Gold''), formerly Vila Rica (, ''Rich Village''), is a city in and former capital of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains and designated a World Herita ...
, in
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
, to João Joaquim da Silva Guimarães (a poet) and Constança Beatriz de Oliveira Guimarães. He graduated himself at the Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de São Paulo in 1847, where he befriended the poets
Álvares de Azevedo Manuel Antônio Álvares de Azevedo (September 12, 1831 – April 25, 1852), affectionately called "Maneco" by his close friends, relatives and admirers, was a Brazilian Romantic poet, short story writer, playwright and essayist, considered to b ...
and
Aureliano Lessa Aureliano José Lessa (1828–1861) was a Brazilian poet, adept of the "Ultra-Romanticism" movement. Born in Minas Gerais in 1828, he moved to São Paulo in 1847 to study Law, but received his bacharel degree at the Faculdade de Direito de Olinda ...
. With those and others, he founded the "Sociedade Epicureia" ("
Epicurean Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism. Few writings by Epi ...
Society") in the same year, and also planned with them an unsuccessful collection of poetry called ''As Três Liras'' (in en, The Three Lyres). In 1852, he became a judge in the city of
Catalão Catalão () is a city and municipality located in the south of the state of Goiás, in Brazil. It is a large producer of grains, cattle, and phosphates and has a John Deere and Mitsubishi factory. Demographics *Population density: 17.85 inhab ...
,
Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goiânia. ...
, a post he held until 1854. He moved to
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
in 1858, and, in the following year, worked as a literary critic in the newspaper ''Atualidade''. He returned to his duty of judge of
Catalão Catalão () is a city and municipality located in the south of the state of Goiás, in Brazil. It is a large producer of grains, cattle, and phosphates and has a John Deere and Mitsubishi factory. Demographics *Population density: 17.85 inhab ...
in 1861, but returns once again to Rio de Janeiro in 1864. In 1866, he became teacher of
Rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
and
Poetics Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry. History The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...
in Ouro Preto. He got married in 1867. In 1873, he became teacher of
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and French in the city of Queluz (now known as Conselheiro Lafaiete), in
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
. He is honored by the Brazilian monarch Pedro II in 1881. Bernardo died poor, in
Ouro Preto Ouro Preto (, ''Black Gold''), formerly Vila Rica (, ''Rich Village''), is a city in and former capital of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains and designated a World Herita ...
, in 1884. Some of his most famous descendants were
José Armelim Bernardo Guimarães José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...
and
Alphonsus de Guimaraens Afonso Henrique da Costa Guimarães, known as Alphonsus de Guimaraens; (July 24, 1870 in Ouro Preto – July 15, 1921 in Mariana) was a Brazilian poet. The poetry of Alphonsus de Guimaraes is substantially mystical and involved with Catholicism ...
.


Works

* ''Cantos da Solidão'' (''Solitude Songs'' — 1852) * ''O Ermitão de Muquém'' (''The Hermit of Muquém'' — 1868) * ''Lendas e Romances'' (''Legends and Romances'' — 1871) * '' O Garimpeiro'' (''The Prospector'' — 1872) * ''Histórias da Província de Minas Gerais'' (''Stories from the Minas Gerais Province'' — 1872) * '' O Seminarista'' (''The Seminarist'' — 1872) * ''O Índio Afonso'' (''Afonso the Indian'' — 1873) * ''A Morte de Gonçalves Dias'' (''
Gonçalves Dias Antônio Gonçalves Dias (; August 10, 1823November 3, 1864) was a Brazilian Romantic poet, playwright, ethnographer, lawyer and linguist. A major exponent of Brazilian Romanticism and of the literary tradition known as " Indianism", he is fam ...
' Death'' — 1873) * '' A Escrava Isaura'' (''Isaura the Slave'' — 1875) * ''Novas Poesias'' (''New Poems'' — 1876) * ''Maurício, ou; Os Paulistas em São João Del-Rei'' (''Maurício, or; The ''Paulistas'' in São João Del-Rei'' — 1877) * ''A Ilha Maldita'' (''The Damned Island'' — 1879) * ''O Pão de Ouro'' (''The Golden Bread'' — 1879) * ''Rosaura, a Enjeitada'' (''The Neglected Rosaura'' — 1883) * ''Folhas de Outono'' (''Autumn Leaves'' — 1883) * ''O Bandido do Rio das Mortes'' (''The Bandit of the Death River'' — 1904, posthumous)


External links


Bernardo Guimarães' biography at the official site of the Brazilian Academy of Letters

A site produced and maintained by descendants of the writer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guimaraes, Bernardo 1825 births 1884 deaths Brazilian male poets Patrons of the Brazilian Academy of Letters University of São Paulo alumni People from Minas Gerais People from Ouro Preto Romantic poets 19th-century Brazilian poets 19th-century Brazilian novelists Brazilian male novelists 19th-century Brazilian male writers