Eugenio de Castro: A symbolic narrative of passion and pessimism (1889-1896)

O'Donnell, Hugh (1976) Eugenio de Castro: A symbolic narrative of passion and pessimism (1889-1896). PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

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Abstract

This thesis offers a detailed, study of all the works of Eugenio de Castro written between 1889 and 1896. I have concentrated on the development of the themes of passion and pessimism during the period in question, and on the debt of these works to the Symbolist poetry and drama of France. Chapter One deals with Oaristos (1890), the first book which clearly reveals the mark of contemporary French literature on the poetry of Eugenio de Castro. In Chapter Two I examine Horas (1891) in terms of a sudden upsurge of interest in religious symbolism among certain writers in France at the time. Chapter Three is divided into two parts. The first of these deals with an event in Eugenio de Castro's life which would provide the starting-point for all the remaining poetry of the period under examinations the breaking, in 1892, of his engagement with Helena Bordalo Pinheiro. In the second part I discuss those poems from Silva (1894) written in 1891 and 1892. Chapter Four is likewise divided into two parts. The first of these looks at a series of poems written in all probability in 1893, though not published until their inclusion in Silva and Interluulnio (1894). In the second part of this chapter I examine the means whereby Eugenio de Castro widens the implications of his personal tragedy to assume the proportions of the universal tragedy proposed by Schopenhaiier. Chapter Five deals with a group of horror-poems to be found in Silva and above all in Interlunio. Chapter Six deals with the first of Eugenio de Castro's major dramatic poems, Belklss (1894). In Chapter Seven, I examine the three poems Tiresias (1895), "A Monja e o Rouxinol" (from Salome e outros poemas) and A Nerelde de Harlem (1896). Chapter Eight examines the second major dramatic poem, Sagramor (1895). I view its hero in the context of a tradition of quest-heroes, in nineteenth-century European literature. In Chapter Nine I deal with O Rei Galaor (1897), examining the influence of Maeterlinck's ideas on fatality as expressed in his article "Etoile", and certain similarities between the initial situation of the drama and the legend of Saint Barbara. I point out the disparity between the apparent tragedy of the ending of the poem, and its real message of hope. I examine the theme of fatality present in the poem as a literary structure employed to create an appearance of tragedy where none actually exists. I study the failure of tragedy in O Rei Galaor in connection with a new series of events in Eugenio de Castro's life, culminating in his marriage in 1898. In the conclusion I examine the philosophical structures employed in Eugenio de Castro's poetry in connection with the emotional situations on which they are based, and which they attempt to magnify. I also view his ideas on literature in the context of certain ideas current above all in France at the time.

Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
Qualification Level: Doctoral
Additional Information: Adviser: Beatriz De Oliveira
Keywords: Romance literature
Date of Award: 1976
Depositing User: Enlighten Team
Unique ID: glathesis:1976-72946
Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
Date Deposited: 11 Jun 2019 11:06
Last Modified: 11 Jun 2019 11:06
URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/72946

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