Sob o signo dos signos: Uma biografia de Haroldo de Campos

Abstract

This thesis aims to present an intellectual profile of Haroldo de Campos, building parallels between his personality and his work. First, it intends to show the intersection between Campos s work as a poet, a theoretician and a translator, arguing that such plurality is based on a coherent conception about language and literature. Furthermore, it will also highlight his pioneering role in establishing a dialogue between poetry and the other arts, such as music, visual arts, cinema and theater. Secondly, it will shed light on the links between life and work, reading his biographical text in connection with his poems, translations and theoretical texts. It will attempt to show that, while on the one hand he had always remained a concrete poet, since he retained a sense of rigor and concision; on the other hand, he never limited himself to these parameters, contrary to the general belief. Expanding his research on languages and poetry, Campos built bridges between modern and classical and biblical literature. It will also stress his role as a precursor of some of the key ideas of Deconstruction and Post-Structuralism, mainly with respect to his translation theory. He was permanently discovering passages between languages, literatures, and temporalities, in search of universalism. From this one can better understand his relation to the Goethean concept of Weltliteratur and his defense of the Baroque as an aesthetic that disrupts temporal and genre-specific conventions. This research is intertextual and interdisciplinary, like the work of Haroldo de Campos himself. For that reason, philosophy of language, literary, translation and communication theories and semiotics have provided its theoretical basis and analytical tools. The methodology included the study of biography theories and the use of outstanding biographies. The thesis presents a temporal, diachronic itinerary, with synchronic readings, retracing the career of one of the greatest minds of literary modernity. The conclusion is that we are still under the paradigm of art and literature established by him.