Literary life in the court became known as a veritable epidemic of poets. The direct connection between the writer's image and the heroes of French Romanticism, the growth of publications through newspapers and magazines from different origins, and a sociability centered on soirées and salons where speeches and tributes were never lacking, made the poet the unavoidable figure of the Empire's capital.
At that time, the craft of poet was valued among students of the few medical, law, or engineering schools that existed in the city. Among the young people who published, it was common to highlight such academic status on the title pages. Poetry, moreover, was a condition practically reserved for those between eighteen and twenty-five years old. The lyricism and romantic excesses of that period would not sit well with grown men in respectable professions.
It is important to remember that most of these young poets were declaimers, who read their poems in public on any possible occasion. Many of them would never publish a book, but they made their mark on the city's cafés, parties, and theaters with their romantic flair for improvising in praise of muses, the Emperor, God, or an actress who was popular at the time.
Image description: This is an old black-and-white photograph. A person is seated in a chair with ornamental details on the left side of the image. The person is wearing a classic suit, including a vest and a bow tie. Beside the person, there is a table with decorative objects and a book. In the upper right portion of the image, there is a figure that appears to be a statue or sculpture.Machado de Assis, one of the greatest names in Brazilian literature, at around 25 years of age. Correio da Manhã Collection, Arquivo Nacional
Machado de Assis, in his Aquarelas – a series of chronicles published in the magazine O Espelho in 1859 – mapped out this type, calling them "literary fanqueiros." They were occasional poets who wasted no time practicing their "fancaria" (trade aimed solely at profit) at christenings, engagements, wakes, or dinners. For a 20-year-old Machado – who was also just beginning his poetic work – they were a "literary calamity." One of the most famous characters of this type of practice in the city was Inácio José Ferreira Maranhense, known as the Vate de Bacanga.
Image description: The image is a black-and-white magazine cover. On the left side, there is a decorative ornament with an "R" inside a circle. In the center, the title "O ESPELHO" is written in capital letters, followed by the description "REVISTA SEMANAL DE LITERATURA, MODAS, INDÚSTRIA E ARTES". Below, there is the author's name, "F. ELEUTERIO DE SOUSA", and the magazine's number, "N. 1". At the bottom center, there is a stamp with a human figure and a plant. The magazine's location is "RIO DE JANEIRO" and the typography is credited as "TYPOGRAPHIA DE F. DE PAULA - BRITO". The full address is "64 - PRAÇA DA CONSTITUIÇÃO - 64". The publication date is "1830".First edition of the magazine O Espelho (1859), where Machado de Assis published Aquarelas. National Library Digital Newspaper Archive
Poetry in newspapers was also a way to provoke rivals, create challenges — the motes and glosas — or make political critiques. Protected by the anonymity that was common in the press, several poems became famous, during the period, for their rhymes criticizing the imperial family, for their humor about the customs of the time, or for their tone of defiance against other poets. In short, poetry was not only a literary genre, but a means of sociability and opinion that involved different social strata. There were poets from the court and poets from the neighborhood, lyrical poets and sarcastic poets, white poets and Black poets. For many decades, poetry was a popular arena for the city's everyday life.
This large number of occasional poets shows how poetic language circulated throughout Rio's society at the time. Good or bad, the fact is that the poet became a fixture of everyday life, with several names that went on to make their mark in the history of Brazilian literature. It was during the imperial court era that names like Fagundes Varela, Laurindo Rabelo, Casimiro de Abreu, Luís Gama, José de Alencar, Bernardo Guimarães, Junqueira Freire, Raimundo Correia, and so many others emerged -- unknown to the general public today, but popular in any literary circle back then.
