WORKSHOP
Reading The Lusiads without worrying about the fact that we are reading an epic poem comprised of ten cantos with eight-line stanzas, called ottava rima, each line made up of ten syllables, yadayadayada; that it's divided into introduction, invocation, dedication and yadayadayada; and let's not forget the famous in media res narration, yadayadayada.
We already know all that. We've learnt it in school. It's done. All that remains is to read The Lusiads as if normally reading a book. Reading it out loud. Opening it, reading it and listening to it. Just for the pleasure of hearing the sounds, feeling the rhythms, the emotions, just for the pleasure of tasting, chewing and spitting out the words, yadayada yadayada.
Or, quoting António José Saraiva, [The Lusiads] "is a book to be intoned by reciters, not to be dissected by grammarians. What it says is sometimes irrelevant when compared to the beauty of a tongue traversing all points of the scale, a sudden word shining like a beacon, a hoarse moan or the glimpse of a theatrical gesture."* Yadayadayada yadayadayada.
*in Estudos sobre a arte d'Os Lusíadas
A compulsory journey. Innovative, thrilling and engaging! An excellent contribution, long overdue, for a motivating and enthusiastic approach to The Lusiads.Sofia RomãoTeacher, Escola Básica Infante D. Henrique
We already know all that. We've learnt it in school. It's done. All that remains is to read The Lusiads as if normally reading a book. Reading it out loud. Opening it, reading it and listening to it. Just for the pleasure of hearing the sounds, feeling the rhythms, the emotions, just for the pleasure of tasting, chewing and spitting out the words, yadayada yadayada.
Or, quoting António José Saraiva, [The Lusiads] "is a book to be intoned by reciters, not to be dissected by grammarians. What it says is sometimes irrelevant when compared to the beauty of a tongue traversing all points of the scale, a sudden word shining like a beacon, a hoarse moan or the glimpse of a theatrical gesture."* Yadayadayada yadayadayada.
*in Estudos sobre a arte d'Os Lusíadas
A compulsory journey. Innovative, thrilling and engaging! An excellent contribution, long overdue, for a motivating and enthusiastic approach to The Lusiads.Sofia RomãoTeacher, Escola Básica Infante D. Henrique
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© Carlos Fernandes