A esperança de Prometeu

Abstract

The author analyses two Portuguese literary productions based on the myth of Prometheus: Prometeu Libertado (Prometheus Unbound) by Guerra Junqueiro — leftunfinished and posthumously edited in 1926 — and Canto de Prometeu (Prometheus Song) by João de Barros (1951). The former, which presents the release of Prometheus by Jesus, is one of the Christian versions of this myth written in the 19th century, the latter, that contains the rebels lament, comes close to Prometheus by Goethe or even to the Aeschylean tragedy. In both Portuguese poems the Titan achieves the freedom of the mind through hope.