“Agora medirei o tempo/ Pelas agulhas no colo de Penélope”: classic motifs in Daniel Faria’s poetry

Abstract

Daniel Faria’s poetry – Portuguese author from the 20th century – embodies, among others, biblical and classical influences that even the most unaware reader notices. Although the relevance of the Sacred Scripture in this poet’s work, who wished to become a Benedictine monk, has been briefly addressed by some researchers, in this essay we seek to analyze a collection of poems in which it’s explicitly claimed a knowledge of the classical imagery. We aim to understand, and make understandable, in which ways classical references are used in the development of a peculiar poetry, commonly related to silence, death, infinite love, the search of Truth, the return to a primordial origin.