It has already been noted that great authors often emerge as reactions to major social crises, and that an aggressive environment is more stimulating than a quiet, controlled, harmless one that does not directly threaten the author and therefore only promotes inertia. All of this is correct; but it remains to be seen that, for the reaction to take place, there needs to be an education that makes it possible to see the scale of the crisis, in other words, the author needs to be very clear about the basic foundations of a civilization, something that requires him, above all, to distance himself from the one in which he lives so that he can use it as an element of comparison.
What Enchants in Provençal Poetry…
What enchants in Provençal poetry and in medieval French fixed forms is above all the melodious sonority, which only occurs because there is an inalienable link with music in both, that is, it only occurs because the compositions, if not intended for singing, are always intended to be recited with musical accompaniment. So rhythm and melody must necessarily harmonize in them as a constructive requirement, having an effect, or rather, endowing the composition with the delicious quality that modern poetry has striven to strip away.
The Right to Disturb
In Brazilian society, the right to disturb prevails over the right not to be disturbed, which is fundamental to peaceful coexistence in the civilized world. In the civilized world, anyone who disturbs immediately ceases to be reasonable and is condemned by common sense; in the Brazilian jungle, woe betide anyone who thinks he has the right not to suffer frequent disturbances! It is said that in Tokyo, what is most surprising is the silence that permeates the busy avenues, the muteness of the huge buildings, the noise that does not emanate from commerce. A Brazilian dog, in Tokyo, seems destined to go mad.
Sometimes It Is Amusing to Imagine…
Sometimes it is amusing to imagine the reaction of one of these very real and literary Europeans, who combine their routine bad humor with the practice of misanthropy, if they were exposed to the boldness of these street peddlers who abound in Brazil’s metropolises. How long could they stand it without exploding and ending up aggressing? Hard to say… But it would only take a few minutes on foot on any busy avenue for them to notice that here there is no such thing as this embarrassment, this healthy inhibition in front of a stranger, this respect that is manifested by a desire not to bother. No, no… the opposite is true here, and the same irritation would arise in the peddler hit by the disappointment of meeting a passer-by who is not entirely available, entirely open and eager for an untimely approach. Two animals whose relationship can only be summed up in repulsion and confrontation and which God, for the good of the planet, does well to separate.