LITERATURA E RELIGIÃO: UM ESTUDO DO SERMÃO DE SANTO ANTÔNIO AOS PEIXES DO PADRE ANTÔNIO VIEIRA

Abstract

This research looks into the message of the Sermon of Saint Anthony to the Fish by father Antônio Vieira, which was preached in 1654 in São Luiz do Maranhão three days before he embarked secretly on a ship to Portugal. This work refers to renowned authors such as Alcir Pécora and Anibal Pinto de Castro, all of whom address the genre sermon and its structure. Margarida Basílio Mendes and Alfredo Bosi address review and literality, with the first one being the top name on studies about Vieira in Portugal. It is also noted names such as Jorge Miguel, historian Ronaldo Vainfas and João Adolfo Hansen who particularly address the contents of the sermon analyzed. Considering that Vieira’s goal was not necessarily read, but actually preach about the Christian faith, so this research aims to discuss what ways, resorting to literary language, Vieira conveyed his message. Therefore, a bibliographic study is carried out based on the analyses of the sermon passages as a research method. During the investigation, it was found that he used literary language to spread his message. For that reason, his sermons are also studied in this area of expertise. In order to understand the message of the cited sermon, an analysis should be carried out as follows: map the Jesuit sermon as well as its structure and the techniques used in each passage, and look into the literary language and the reasons why its text is considered part of both Brazilian and Portuguese literature. As a result, this study gets to the core of the message through this process and to the impact that it caused in the historical context in which Vieira was part of. Consequently, it is noted that the message uttered by Vieira, indeed, affected the historical context in which he was.