Os Lusiadas
Reading and Writing Workshop: Exploring Epic Poetry through Os Lusíadas
Workshop Overview:
In this workshop, we will explore Os Lusíadas by Luís Vaz de Camões, one of the greatest epic poems of the Portuguese Renaissance, while connecting its motifs to other epic traditions. Each session includes reading selections from Os Lusíadas and companion epic texts, discussions on motifs, and creative writing exercises.
Session 1: The Epic Invocation and Divine Inspiration
Readings:
Writing Prompt: Write your own modern "invocation" as if you were beginning your own epic poem.
Session 2: Heroic Journeys and Maritime Exploration
Readings:
Writing Prompt: Describe a journey you would take to an unexplored realm, including the obstacles you might encounter.
Session 3: Encounters with the Supernatural
Readings:
Writing Prompt: Create your own supernatural guardian or adversary that a hero must overcome.
Session 4: The Role of Fate and Prophecy
Readings:
Writing Prompt: Write a scene where your hero learns about their destiny but chooses to challenge or embrace it.
Session 5: Love and Temptation in Epic Narratives
Readings:
Writing Prompt: Write a short story or poem where a hero must choose between love and duty.
Session 6: Legacy and Cultural Identity
Readings:
Writing Prompt: Reflect on your own culture or community and write an epic-style scene about its origins or heroic figures.
Optional Extension Session: Comparing Global Epics
Suggested Readings:
Writing Prompt: Write a comparative essay analyzing how Os Lusíadas shares themes with one other epic you’ve read.
Workshop Overview:
In this workshop, we will explore Os Lusíadas by Luís Vaz de Camões, one of the greatest epic poems of the Portuguese Renaissance, while connecting its motifs to other epic traditions. Each session includes reading selections from Os Lusíadas and companion epic texts, discussions on motifs, and creative writing exercises.
Session 1: The Epic Invocation and Divine Inspiration
Readings:
- Os Lusíadas, Canto I (Introduction and Invocation to the Muse)
- The Iliad by Homer, Book I (Invocation and quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon)
- The Aeneid by Virgil, Book I (Invocation to the Muse)
Writing Prompt: Write your own modern "invocation" as if you were beginning your own epic poem.
Session 2: Heroic Journeys and Maritime Exploration
Readings:
- Os Lusíadas, Canto II (Vasco da Gama’s voyage and challenges at sea)
- The Odyssey by Homer, Books V and IX (Odysseus' sea voyages and adventures)
- The Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius, Book I (Jason and the Argonauts set sail)
Writing Prompt: Describe a journey you would take to an unexplored realm, including the obstacles you might encounter.
Session 3: Encounters with the Supernatural
Readings:
- Os Lusíadas, Canto V (The appearance of Adamastor, the giant of the Cape)
- The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, Inferno, Canto I (Dante meets Virgil)
- The Epic of Gilgamesh (Encounter with Humbaba in the Cedar Forest)
Writing Prompt: Create your own supernatural guardian or adversary that a hero must overcome.
Session 4: The Role of Fate and Prophecy
Readings:
- Os Lusíadas, Canto VI (The Council of the Gods discussing Vasco’s fate)
- The Iliad by Homer, Book VI (Hector’s fate and the gods' interventions)
- Beowulf (Beowulf’s battles and the notion of wyrd, or fate)
Writing Prompt: Write a scene where your hero learns about their destiny but chooses to challenge or embrace it.
Session 5: Love and Temptation in Epic Narratives
Readings:
- Os Lusíadas, Canto IX (The Island of Love and the Nymphs)
- The Aeneid by Virgil, Book IV (Dido and Aeneas)
- The Odyssey by Homer, Book XII (Circe and Calypso)
Writing Prompt: Write a short story or poem where a hero must choose between love and duty.
Session 6: Legacy and Cultural Identity
Readings:
- Os Lusíadas, Canto X (Celebration of Portugal’s glory and destiny)
- The Aeneid by Virgil, Book XII (Aeneas' final victory and founding of Rome)
- The Song of Roland (The legacy of Charlemagne and his knights)
Writing Prompt: Reflect on your own culture or community and write an epic-style scene about its origins or heroic figures.
Optional Extension Session: Comparing Global Epics
Suggested Readings:
- The Mahabharata (The Bhagavad Gita section)
- The Shahnameh by Ferdowsi (Rostam and Sohrab episode)
Writing Prompt: Write a comparative essay analyzing how Os Lusíadas shares themes with one other epic you’ve read.