Pedro Correia Garção
Encyclopedia
Pedro António Joaquim Correia da Serra Garção (bap. Lisbon
, Socorro, 13 June 1724 – Lisbon, São Martinho, 10 November 1772) was a Portuguese
lyric poet
.
, and baptized in 1697, a Nobleman of the Royal Household
, Knight
of the Order of Christ
and Familiar of the Holy Office of the Portuguese Inquisition
of Coimbra
, who held an important post in the foreign office; his mother Luísa Maria da Visitação Dorgier Garção de Carvalho, born in Lisbon, São José, and baptized on 18 July 1699, was of French
descent.
The poet's health was frail, and after going through a Jesuit
school in Lisbon
and learning English
, French
and Italian
at home, he proceeded in 1742 to the University of Coimbra with a view to a legal career. He took his degree in 1748, and two years later was created a Knight of the Order of Christ. In 1751 his marriage in Lisbon, Santa Justa, with Maria Ana Xavier Froes Mascarenhas de Sande Salema, born c. 1725, by whom he had one son, brought him a rich dowry which enabled him to live in ease and cultivate letters; but in later years a law-suit reduced him to poverty. He managed, however, to become a Nobleman of the Royal Household like his father.
From 1760 to 1762 he edited the Lisbon Gazette. In 1756, in conjunction with Cruz e Silva
and others, Garção founded the Arcádia Lusitana to reform the prevailing bad taste in literature, identified with Seicentismo, which delighted in conceits, windy words and rhetorical phrases. The Arcádia fulfilled its mission to some extent, but it lacked creative power, became dogmatic, and ultimately died of inanition. Garção was the chief contributor to its proceedings, bearing the name of Corydon Erimantheo, and his orations and dissertations, with many of his lyrics, were pronounced and read at its meetings.
He lived much in the society of the English residents in Lisbon, and he is supposed to have conceived a passion for an English married lady which completely absorbed him and contributed to his ruin. In the midst of his literary activity and growing fame, he was arrested on the night of April 9, 1771, and committed to prison by Pombal
, whose displeasure he had incurred by his independence of character. The immediate cause of his incarceration would appear to have been his connection with a love intrigue between a young friend of his and the daughter of a Colonel Elsden, but he was never brought to trial, and the matter must remain in doubt. After much solicitation, his wife obtained from the king an order for her husband's release on November 10, 1772, but it came too late. Broken by infirmities and the hardships of prison life, Garção expired that very day in the Limoeiro
, at the age of forty-seven.
as his model, supported by his own background of scholarship and wide reading, Garção set out to raise and purify the standard of poetic taste. His verses are characterized by a classical simplicity of form and expression. His sonnet
s and sodales reveal his personality; his ode
s and epistle
s reveal an inspired poet and a man chastened by suffering. His two comedies in hendecasyllable
s, the Theatro Novo (played in January 1766) amid the Assemblea, are satires on the social life of the capital; and in the Cantata de Dido, included in the latter piece, the spirit of Greek art is allied to perfection of form, making this composition much-admired among Portuguese 18th century poetry.
Garção wrote little and spent much time on the labor limae. His works were published posthumously in 1778, and the most complete and accessible edition is that of António José Saraiva, Obras completas, 2 vols. (Lisbon, 1957-58; reprinted 1982). An English version of the Cantata de Dido appeared in the Academy (January 19th, 1895).
See Innocencio da Silva, Diccionario bibliographico Portuguez, vol. vi. pp. 386-393, and vol. xvii. pp. 182-184; also Theofilo Braga
, A Arcadia Lusitana (Oporto, 1899).
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Socorro, 13 June 1724 – Lisbon, São Martinho, 10 November 1772) was a Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
lyric poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.
Biography
Garção was the son of Filipe Correia da Serra or Correia da Silva, born in São João do Souto, BragaBraga
Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...
, and baptized in 1697, a Nobleman of the Royal Household
Royal Household
A Royal Household in ancient and medieval monarchies formed the basis for the general government of the country as well as providing for the needs of the sovereign and his relations....
, Knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
of the Order of Christ
Order of Christ (Portugal)
The Military Order of Christ previously the Royal Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ was the heritage of the Knights Templar in Portugal, after the suppression of the Templars in 1312...
and Familiar of the Holy Office of the Portuguese Inquisition
Portuguese Inquisition
The Portuguese Inquisition was formally established in Portugal in 1536 at the request of the King of Portugal, João III. Manuel I had asked for the installation of the Inquisition in 1515 to fulfill the commitment of marriage with Maria of Aragon, but it was only after his death that the Pope...
of Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
, who held an important post in the foreign office; his mother Luísa Maria da Visitação Dorgier Garção de Carvalho, born in Lisbon, São José, and baptized on 18 July 1699, was of French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
descent.
The poet's health was frail, and after going through a Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
school in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
and learning English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
at home, he proceeded in 1742 to the University of Coimbra with a view to a legal career. He took his degree in 1748, and two years later was created a Knight of the Order of Christ. In 1751 his marriage in Lisbon, Santa Justa, with Maria Ana Xavier Froes Mascarenhas de Sande Salema, born c. 1725, by whom he had one son, brought him a rich dowry which enabled him to live in ease and cultivate letters; but in later years a law-suit reduced him to poverty. He managed, however, to become a Nobleman of the Royal Household like his father.
From 1760 to 1762 he edited the Lisbon Gazette. In 1756, in conjunction with Cruz e Silva
António Diniz da Cruz e Silva
António Diniz da Cruz e Silva , Portuguese heroic-comic poet, was the son of a Lisbon carpenter who emigrated to Brazil shortly before the poet's birth, leaving his wife to support and educate her young family by the earnings of her needle.-Education:Diniz studied Latin and philosophy with the...
and others, Garção founded the Arcádia Lusitana to reform the prevailing bad taste in literature, identified with Seicentismo, which delighted in conceits, windy words and rhetorical phrases. The Arcádia fulfilled its mission to some extent, but it lacked creative power, became dogmatic, and ultimately died of inanition. Garção was the chief contributor to its proceedings, bearing the name of Corydon Erimantheo, and his orations and dissertations, with many of his lyrics, were pronounced and read at its meetings.
He lived much in the society of the English residents in Lisbon, and he is supposed to have conceived a passion for an English married lady which completely absorbed him and contributed to his ruin. In the midst of his literary activity and growing fame, he was arrested on the night of April 9, 1771, and committed to prison by Pombal
Sebastião de Melo, Marquis of Pombal
Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Count of Oeiras, 1st Marquess of Pombal Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Count of Oeiras, 1st Marquess of Pombal Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Count of Oeiras, 1st Marquess of Pombal ((Marquês de Pombal, ; 13 May 1699–8 May 1782) was an 18th...
, whose displeasure he had incurred by his independence of character. The immediate cause of his incarceration would appear to have been his connection with a love intrigue between a young friend of his and the daughter of a Colonel Elsden, but he was never brought to trial, and the matter must remain in doubt. After much solicitation, his wife obtained from the king an order for her husband's release on November 10, 1772, but it came too late. Broken by infirmities and the hardships of prison life, Garção expired that very day in the Limoeiro
Limoeiro
Limoeiro is a city in Pernambuco, Brazil.-Geography:* State - Pernambuco* Region - Agreste Pernambucano* Boundaries - Vicência ; Passira and Feira Nova ; Carpina, Lagoa do Carro and Buenos Aires ; Bom Jardim, Salgadinho and João Alfredo * Area - 269.97 sqkm* Elevation - 138 m* Hidrography...
, at the age of forty-seven.
Works and style
Taking HoraceHorace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
as his model, supported by his own background of scholarship and wide reading, Garção set out to raise and purify the standard of poetic taste. His verses are characterized by a classical simplicity of form and expression. His sonnet
Sonnet
A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...
s and sodales reveal his personality; his ode
Ode
Ode is a type of lyrical verse. A classic ode is structured in three major parts: the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode. Different forms such as the homostrophic ode and the irregular ode also exist...
s and epistle
Epistle
An epistle is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The letters in the New Testament from Apostles to Christians...
s reveal an inspired poet and a man chastened by suffering. His two comedies in hendecasyllable
Hendecasyllable
The hendecasyllable is a line of eleven syllables, used in Ancient Greek and Latin quantitative verse as well as in medieval and modern European poetry.-In quantitative verse:...
s, the Theatro Novo (played in January 1766) amid the Assemblea, are satires on the social life of the capital; and in the Cantata de Dido, included in the latter piece, the spirit of Greek art is allied to perfection of form, making this composition much-admired among Portuguese 18th century poetry.
Garção wrote little and spent much time on the labor limae. His works were published posthumously in 1778, and the most complete and accessible edition is that of António José Saraiva, Obras completas, 2 vols. (Lisbon, 1957-58; reprinted 1982). An English version of the Cantata de Dido appeared in the Academy (January 19th, 1895).
See Innocencio da Silva, Diccionario bibliographico Portuguez, vol. vi. pp. 386-393, and vol. xvii. pp. 182-184; also Theofilo Braga
Teófilo Braga
Joaquim Teófilo Fernandes Braga ]] 24 February 1843 – 28 January 1924) was a Portuguese writer, playwright, politician and the leader of the Republican Provisional Government after the abdication of King Manuel II, as well as the second elected President of the First Portuguese Republic, following...
, A Arcadia Lusitana (Oporto, 1899).