Elegy

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

3.7

Word count: 3.6K words
Chapters: 1

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.Elegia 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: Oct 5, 2007

Editor's review

This Elegia is an elegiac work by the Portuguese poet Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage (1765–1805), released as a free eBook by Project Gutenberg. Bocage was a major poet of Portugal's transition from Neoclassicism to Romanticism, known for intense emotion and direct language. The elegy as a genre focuses on loss, parting, and melancholy, and is usually short, making this a suitable introductory text for understanding the Portuguese poetic tradition. The book is the Portuguese original and requires some knowledge of Portuguese; for readers studying Portuguese literature, comparative literature, or poetry translation, it offers a moderately sized sample that rewards repeated close reading. The electronic edition is easy to obtain and convenient for use as selected reading in classes or reading groups. Note that the information shows only that this is a public-domain eBook released by Project Gutenberg and does not cover translations or critical commentary, so readers should approach it with the background of Portuguese literary history in mind.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Learners with basic Portuguese reading ability who want to encounter Portuguese poetry in the original
University students in Portuguese or comparative literature who need a short poetry sample
Poetry lovers who enjoy elegy and sentimental lyric and are willing to read the original

Not a good fit for

General readers with no Portuguese at all who need a Chinese translation
Readers expecting long narrative or plot-driven works

Reading tips

Read through once for the overall mood, then go paragraph by paragraph with a dictionary, noting the elegy's lyrical rhythm.
Consult background material on the transition from Portuguese Neoclassicism to Romanticism to understand the poem's place in literary style.
Try reading the original aloud to feel the sound of Portuguese poetry, and compare it with the Chinese elegiac tradition.

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 in Chinese?

No. According to the information, the book is in Portuguese; it is the public-domain original released by Project Gutenberg with no Chinese translation, so some Portuguese ability is needed to read it.

What period did Bocage belong to?

Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage was born in 1765 and died in 1805, active from the late 18th to the early 19th century, in the period of Portugal's transition from Neoclassicism to Romanticism.

What are the characteristics of the elegy as a genre?

The elegy originally referred to lyric poetry on themes of grief, mourning, or parting. It is usually short and emphasizes emotional expression rather than narrative; when reading, pay attention to its tone and use of imagery.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

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.