Luís Nicolau Fagundes Varela (August 17, 1841 – February 18, 1875) was a Brazilian Romantic poet, adept of the "

Ultra-Romanticism Ultra-Romanticism ( pt, Ultrarromantismo) was a Portuguese and Brazilian literary movement that took place during the second half of the 19th. Aesthetically similar to (but not exactly the same as) the German- and British-originated Dark Romanticis ...

" movement. He is patron of the 11th chair of the

Brazilian Academy of Letters The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) ( English: ''Brazilian Academy of Letters'') is a Brazilian literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its foundation on Tue ...

Biography

Luís Nicolau Fagundes Varela was born in

Rio Claro Rio Claro (Portuguese and Spanish for "clear river" or "clean river") may refer to: Cities *Rio Claro, Trinidad and Tobago, the largest town in southeastern Trinidad and Tobago *Rio Claro, Rio de Janeiro, a Brazilian municipality in the state of R ...

in 1841, to Emiliano Fagundes Varela and Emília de Andrade. He spent most of his childhood at the farm where he was born, later moving to innumerous places, among them 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. ...

, where he met

Bernardo Guimarães 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 the ''verso ...

. Returning to Rio de Janeiro, he lived in Angra dos Reis and

Petrópolis Petrópolis (; ), also known as The Imperial City, is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region of Brazil. It is located in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro, northeast of the ci ...

, where he concluded his primary and secondary studies. In 1859, he went to

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

and, in 1862, he enrolled at the Largo de São Francisco Law School, but abandoned it to dedicate himself to the literature and to the bohemianism. He published his first poetry book, ''Noturnas'', one year before. He married a circus artist from

Sorocaba Sorocaba () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Sorocaba is the eighth-largest city in the state of São Paulo. Outside the Greater São Paulo region, it ranks behind only Campinas, São José dos Campos and Ribeirão Preto. It ...

, Alice Guilhermina Luande. This provoked a scandal in his family and made his financial condition worse. With her he had a son, Emiliano, who died at 3 months old; extremely depressed, Fagundes wrote in the memory of his dead son his most well-known poem, "Cântico do Calvário" (that can be found on the book ''Cantos e Fantasias''). His wife died in 1865 or 1866, while Varela was travelling to

Recife That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...

. Returning to São Paulo, he enrolled once more in the Largo de São Francisco Law School in 1867, but later abandoned it once more. He then returned to his house in Rio Claro, living there until 1870. He married once again, with his cousin Maria Belisária de Brito Lambert, having two daughters and one son. Having moved to Niterói with his father in 1870, he lived there until his death on 8 February 1875. Some of Varela's poems have an unusual theme for the Ultra-Romanticism:

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

. Because of that, he is considered to be one of the forerunners of the " Condorism", alongside

Junqueira Freire Luís José Junqueira Freire (December 31, 1832 – June 24, 1855) was a Brazilian poet and Benedictine monk, adept of the "Ultra-Romanticism" movement and author of ''Inspirações do Claustro''. He is the patron of the 25th chair of the Brazili ...

, another Ultra-Romantic poet who spoke of abolitionism in some of his poems.

Works

* ''Noturnas'' (

1861 Statistically, this year is considered the end of the whale oil industry and (in replacement) the beginning of the petroleum oil industry. Events January–March * January 1 ** Benito Juárez captures Mexico City. ** The first steam-p ...

) * ''Vozes da América'' (

1864 Events January–March * January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song " ...

) * ''Cantos e Fantasias'' ( 1865) * ''Cantos Meridionais'' ( 1869) * ''Cantos do Ermo e da Cidade'' ( 1869) * ''Anchieta, ou O Evangelho na Selva'' (

1875 Events January–March * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the ...

— posthumous) * ''Cantos Religiosos'' ( 1878 — poems compiled by Varela's friend Otaviano Hudson, with the objective of consolating Varela's wife and children) * ''O Diário de Lázaro e Outras Poesias'' ( 1880 — posthumous)

External links

*
Fagundes Varela's biography at the official site of the Brazilian Academy of Letters
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Varela, Fagundes 1841 births 1875 deaths Romantic poets Brazilian male poets People from Rio de Janeiro (state) University of São Paulo alumni Portuguese-language writers Patrons of the Brazilian Academy of Letters 19th-century Brazilian poets 19th-century Brazilian male writers