O mar, o rio e a tempestade

The Odyssey, King Lear, and Grande Sertão: Veredas—combining different critical perspectives, the original essays gathered in this book create a dialogue between three literary universes that converge and transform one another. Philosophy serves as the starting point for an original reading of these three classic works, traversing the history of ideas and their reception, from Ancient Greece, through Early Modern England, to Contemporary Brazil, before returning to a philosophical discussion on forms of expression. The works are explored not merely as illustrations, metaphors, or allegories, but in their reflective dimensions.

“A journey across Homer’s sea of verses, through the storm of Shakespeare’s dramaturgy, and along the river of Guimarães Rosa’s literature.”
—Pedro Duarte and Tatiana Salem Levy, coordinators of the “Ensaio Aberto” series.

O mar, o rio e a tempestade, by Pedro Süssekind, is one of the works included in the “Ensaio Aberto” book series, a partnership between NOVA FCSH and PUC-Rio.

Ensaio Aberto series

In Western tradition, there was a certain assumption of separation between Philosophy and Literature, resulting in a historical understanding that divided, on one hand, the mind, reflection, or reason, and on the other hand, the body, creation, or emotion. Thus, the possibility of a knowledge that, instead of separating, brought Philosophy and Literature closer together was lost. One might ask: don’t writers philosophize, and don’t philosophers write? The essays in this series emerged from the desire to explore how, despite the well-known metaphysical critique that Philosophy directed towards Literature, they never ceased to draw closer.