“The procession of miracles”: nature as myth and matter in Brazilian colonial poetry

Abstract

This article analyzes a selection of colonial poems whose main subject is the experience of Brazilian nature. It aims to discuss two ways of representing it: the mythical and the utilitarian. The poetic expression is defined as an action on the world, as a means of knowledge, social interaction and memory of the appropriation of the tropical environment. It offers an interpretation of the discursive procedure of these works by means of a critical study based on the historiographies of culture and of wealth creation in Portuguese America. It intends to evaluate the representation of the environment according to the praise of its natural wonders as a source of sensory pleasure and amazement, on the one hand, and of production of commodities for the world market, on the other. The categories of nature-myth and nature-matter were considered culturally relevant as part of the daily-life introjection of the colonial order in the tropics.