A poesia social de Vinicius de Moraes

Abstract

Vinicius de Moraes (1913 – 1980) was one of the greatest names of Brazilian literature of the twentieth century. His work contemplates poetry, drama, chronicle, music and movies critique. As for poetry, the critique separates his work in three phases: the first, with strong religious features; the second, with emphasis on social issues; and, the third, involving the musical compositions. This research examines the second phase of the poetry of Vinicius de Moraes, on the perspective of a social lyricism. In the first chapter, although it is not the main focus of this work, we considered important to stop in the first phase, sketching comments about the lyrical love poems and his musical production, seen as one of the most expressive of the time. Next, social-lyrical poems were selected for the making of the analyses initially proposed. The second chapter raises discussions on the construction of the poetic image present in the texts and the way in which social issues of the time were expressed, such as women’s behavior in high society, the destruction caused by the nuclear bomb, the social importance of the laborers and the holocaust. The third chapter continues exploring historical moments by discussing themes such as the poet’s vision of homeland, from both social and political perspectives; aspects of external economy; the totalitarian political regimes that ruled some nations in the twentieth century. Finally, we show that the poetry of Vinicius de Moraes carries tones of criticism and reflection on events that marked history and society of the twentieth century, without, at any moment, losing the lyricism.