The post-modern Portuguese epic: dissimulation and simulation in “The Quabyrycas”

Abstract

The As Quybyrycas, work written by António Quadros, is a post-modern epic poem, traverses to post-colonial epic that centers itself in the moderni­ty antinomies of Portuguese culture and in the potential of its debates. The history rewriting of Portuguese people, through the discourse epic semioti­zation doesn’t echo with the “mystic nationalist and rational Sebastian’s”, according to Fernando Pessoa’s epic point of view, but it represents contem­porarily a way to oppose to all or any mythicized form that was construct around the figure of D. Sebastian and his followers that were involved in the Alcácer-Quibir defeat and, by metonymy in Portugal’s one. Particularly this work enunciates a reality proposition by relating the rational forms present in the political, cultural and economic structure of the sixteenth century Portugal that became implausible by its colonial, slavers and racially excluding character.