From lovebed to deathbed

the byronism of Don Juan and Haidée appropriated by Álvares de Azevedo

Abstract

The Englishman George Gordon Byron (1788-1824) was one of the most imitated writers of Romanticism. This author was responsible for the worldwide dissemination of Byronism In the 19th century, a literary fashion, a behavioural trend and a state of mind that mainly promoted irony, melancholy and orgy, themes that were well accepted by Brazilian readers In the 19th century. Álvares de Azevedo (1831-1852), the greatest Brazilian Byronian, liked Don Juan (2019) so much that he epigraphed it four times. Of these epigraphs, we prioritise the verses of stanza CLXXIX, from Canto III, which appear In “Canto primeiro”, from O poema do Frade (2000), the seventh verse of stanza CLXXXV, from Canto II, which can be seen In the poem “Vagabundo”, from Lira dos vinte anos (2000), and the third and fourth verses of stanza LIX, from Canto IV, which can be seen In “Canto segundo”, from O poema do frade (2000). According to Genette (2009 and 2010), epigraphs are paratexts that establish relationships with the epigraphed text, which is why this article aims to unveil the motivations that led the Brazilian poet to exponentially reference Donjuanesque work, emphasising the unpublished re-readings. With a view to achieving this goal, the work is based on Comparative Literature, a discipline that confronts and compares literatures from different origins In order to elucidate literary issues, using deductive-inductive and analytical-interpretive approaches. In view of this, this discussion is supported mainly by literary critics such as Alves (1998), Candido (2000), Cavalcante (2009) and Freire (2010), who deal with the Byronic presence In the romantic poet, and by the studies of Carvalhal (2006), Sant’anna (2008), Brunel (2012) and Nitrini (2021), who deal with the conceptions of comparison and reception.