Words and Stories. Palavras e Histórias.
Isn't Henry Morton Robinson a writer to wonder at? In a passage published before, we have seen him use chess metaphors in a masterful way. Here we will look at some shorter metaphors, and one simile, also from his famous novel The Cardinal (yes, I admit it's his only work I have read). Check how … Continue lendo [Writing tips] Examples of metaphors
Listen to Andersen's delightful satire of arrogant artists
A beautiful fantasy by Hans Christian Andersen. In the Garden of Paradise, beneath the Tree of Knowledge, bloomed a rose bush. Here, in the first rose, a bird was born. His flight was like the flashing of light, his plumage was beauteous, and his song ravishing. But when Eve plucked the fruit of the tree … Continue lendo [Andersen’s lesser-known tales] The Phoenix Bird
Let's enjoy two particularly poetic passages from Evelyn Waugh's masterpiece
We use repetitions to emphasize an idea. But what if instead of repeating the same word, we repeated the same idea — in different words? The effect can be striking. In this short quote, we see an author find no less than eight different ways to say "the past", and use them all to evoke … Continue lendo [Writing tips] A great example of effective repetitions
Sometimes we are walking distractedly down a story when we stumble on a passage that is remarkable and precious. It's the case with Rudyard Kipling's Puck of Pook's Hill. The story of the Roman centurion is very enjoyable, but when we come to this piece of poetry, we are surprised and delighted to see a … Continue lendo [Literary passage] A song to the Sun-god
O famoso poeta irlandês W. B. Yeats nos revela um aspecto da feminilidade
Neste famoso poema, o poeta laureado inglês John Masefield (1878 - 1967) evoca com vividez o apelo da vida no mar. Os princípios que usei para a tradução foram dois: manter em cada verso o mesmo número de silabas tônicas do original, e manter ao mesmo tempo todas as imagens que Masefield usa. E quando … Continue lendo [Poesia inglesa traduzida] A Febre do Mar
Let's delight in Henry Morton Robinson's deft use of chess figures of speech towards the end of this scene. The man was a master at simile and metaphor. Setup: Young Father Stephen Fermoyle has fallen in disgrace with the irascible Cardinal Glennon, who banished him to a remote, penniless parish as assistant to the ailing … Continue lendo [Literary passage] Chess metaphors in The Cardinal
If you are curious about Brazilian poetry, this famous sonnet is a great place to start your discovery.
Beatriz Becker 