Virtue Crowned

Bocage, Manuel Maria Barbosa du, 1765-1805Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 56K words
Chapters: 6

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.A virtude laureada by Manuel Maria Barbosa du BocageAuthor: Bocage, Manuel Maria Barbosa du, 1765-1805,Language: Portuguese, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Sep 5, 2006

Editor's review

This work is a verse drama in Portuguese by the poet Bocage, digitized by Project Gutenberg as a free electronic edition. For Chinese readers it opens a window onto the literary context of late 18th-century Portugal. Its value lies not in elaborate plotting but in the classical rhetorical training and the moral-aesthetic tension of the late Enlightenment embodied in its verse: the very title "Virtue Rewarded" carries the flavor of a morality play and is well suited to observing how writers of the period used dramatic form to discuss honor, virtue, and fate. As a public-domain e-book, it is simply formatted and easy to obtain, making it convenient for language study or literary-historical inquiry alongside the original text. It is best read as a historical text rather than a modern bestseller, with attention to the rhythm of the lines, the use of allusion, and the values expressed in the characters' monologues. Reading it together with a general history of Portuguese literature or background material on the Enlightenment will be more rewarding; a Chinese paraphrase alone cannot convey the beauty of the original's sound, so it suits readers with some Portuguese or a willingness to use a bilingual edition.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers learning Portuguese who wish to encounter 18th-century Portuguese poetry in the original
Students and teachers of Portuguese literary history or Enlightenment drama
Digital readers interested in public-domain e-books and Project Gutenberg
Readers who enjoy morality plays and are willing to study the historical context

Not a good fit for

General readers expecting modern novelistic plotting and fast-paced narrative
Readers with no Portuguese at all who are unwilling to use a parallel translation
Readers seeking only popular Chinese-language books who are unfamiliar with classical verse drama

Reading tips

Read a brief introduction to 18th-century Portuguese literature before the text to lower the barrier to understanding.
Read scene by scene in a bilingual edition, noting rhyme and the sources of allusions.
After each act, summarize the characters' situation and the moral question in two or three sentences to keep the threads clear.
For language study, excerpt short passages to read aloud and appreciate the rhythm and rhetoric of Portuguese verse

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a play?

Judging by the title and Bocage's background, it is a verse drama or morality play in poetic dialogue rather than a prose novel in the modern sense. Read it by scenes and speeches rather than expecting continuous plot development.

Can I read it without knowing Portuguese?

A bilingual edition or translation tools can help, but the beauty of the original's sound and rhetoric cannot be fully conveyed. Relying entirely on machine translation will greatly obscure the allusions and irony in the monologues, so it is best read alongside literary-historical material or a translation.

What is special about this edition?

It is a free electronic edition from Project Gutenberg, a digitization of a public-domain text with simple formatting that is easy to search and copy. It is not a scholarly critical edition and has limited notes and introduction, making it suitable as an introductory text for self-learners and language students.

What background knowledge is needed?

Familiarity with the social and literary atmosphere of late 18th-century Portugal, the aesthetic taste of the transition from classicism to the Enlightenment, and the common personification of virtues in morality plays will significantly ease reading. Familiarity with Greek and Roman allusions will make the metaphors in the verse smoother to grasp.

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About the author

Bocage, Manuel Maria Barbosa du, 1765-1805 Author

Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage (1765–1805) was a Portuguese poet whose biographical details are limited in publicly available sources. Seven of his works are held in this collection, including Poesias Eroticas, Burlescas, e Satyricas de M.M. de Barbosa du Bocage, Mágoas Amorosas de Elmano, Improvisos de Bocage, and A virtude laureada. These titles indicate a body of writing that combines lyric, satire, and extempore verse; under the pen name "Elmano" he voiced the sorrows of love, and he also touched on moral and illusionary themes. His poetry is direct in language and intense in feeling, and he is regarded in Portuguese literary history as an important voice on the eve of Romanticism. The site currently classifies him under inspirational and personal growth, suitable for general reading and biographical study.