The Muse Reborn

This is the first study of the literary and aesthetic qualities of Ferreira's verse, first published in 1598 as the "Poemas Lusitanos", and and seen as one of the monuments of Renaissance literature in Portugal. Ferreira attempted nearly every poetic genre - ode, epistle, sonnet sequence, eclogue, elergy and epigram - some of which he introduced to Portuguese literature. It takes as its starting point the poet's concern with imitation and compares Ferreira with his principal literary models - Virgil, Horace and Petrarch. Of interest to all students of Portuguese literature, "The muse reborn" will also interest Renaissance scholars concerned with theories of intertextuality.