First published in 1572, this is an epic poem of the Renaissance, immortalizing Portugal's voyages of discovery. At the centre of the poem is Vasco da Gama's pioneer voyage via southern Africa to India in 1497-98. The first European artist to cross the equator, Camoes's narrative reflects the novelty and fascination of that original encounter with Africa, India and the Far East. The poem's twin symbols are the Cross and the Astrolabe, and its celebration of a turning point in mankind's knowledge of the world unites the old map of the heavens with the newly discovered terrain on earth. Yet it speaks powerfully, too, of the precariousness of power, and of the rise and decline of nationhood, threatened not only from without by enemies, but from within by loss of integrity and vision. This edition is complemented by an illuminating introduction and extensive notes.
- ISBN10 0809301288
- ISBN13 9780809301287
- Publish Date 1 March 1964 (first published December 1963)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 22 July 2015
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Southern Illinois University Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 352
- Language English