Talk:Nicolau Tolentino de Almeida

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I am posting here the translation of the last 3 paragraphs from this source in Portuguese, as Brian0918 requested:

<begin translation>
A sátira de Tolentino, que o tornou particularmente conhecido e o distinguiu dos poetas seus contemporâneos (não pertenceu, aliás, a nenhum dos grupos literários arcádicos), dirige-se à mesquinhez dos costumes, à pelintrice das aparências, à insensatez de certos grupos sociais e comportamentos, num humor pitoresco e irónico. O próprio poeta se inclui entre os cúmplices dessa mediocridade, assumindo a sua pequenez resignada — alguns dos seus poemas são homenagens a grandes figuras da época, de cuja protecção e auxílio necessitava. Tolentino apresenta-se como vivendo na miséria, e assume-se, ele próprio, consciente e ironicamente, personagem da comédia humana que caricatura.

Tolentino's satire, which made him particularly known and set him apart from his contemporaries (in fact, he did not belong to any of the Arcadian literary groups), is directed at the pettiness of tradition, at the fakery of appearances, at the senselessness of certain social groups and behaviors, with a humour that was both ironic and amusing. The poet includes himself amidst the cooperators of this mediocrity, resigning himself to his own small-mindedness - some of his poems are homages to great people of the time, whose protection and help he needed. Tolentino presents himself as living in misery, and declares himself, both ironically and conscientiously, as a character in the human comedy that he caricatured.

Do ponto de vista estilístico, a obra do poeta caracteriza-se pela sua simplicidade, longe da grandiloquência e das métricas próprias dos poetas neoclássicos. O seu verso aproxima-se das formas populares, e o seu tom da coloquialidade, o que contribui para os efeitos de denúncia de vícios corriqueiros, de episódios quotidianos.

From the point of view of style, the poet's work is marked by his simplicity, distant from the grandiloquence and the metrical structure of the neoclassic poets. His verses approach the popular forms, and his tone approaches a colloquialism, which contributes to the effect of denunciation of every-day vices, of ordinary episodes.

É considerado por muitos um dos grandes vultos literários do século XVIII português e um dos maiores satíricos nacionais.

He is considered by many as one of the great literary figures of the Portuguese 18th century, as well as one of the greatest national satirists.

<end translation>

I hope this is satisfactory. Redux 03:00, 16 September 2006 (UTC)