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- A villain and a monster : the literary portrait of Richard III by Thomas More and William ShakespearePublication . Relvas, Maria de JesusThe process of vilification of Richard III started at the end of the fifteenth century, when a well-planned policy of Tudor propaganda was set in motion by Henry VII himself, who commissioned a series of historiographical writings, mainly aiming at the solidification of the newly founded dynasty. One of the strategies, probably the major one, consisted in the definitive annihilation of the last Plantagenet king of England, whose defeat and death on the battlefield should not by any means transform him into the York victimised hero of the Wars of the Roses. Thus, various historiographers delineated Richard of Gloucester as a vile, wicked, monstrous creature. But the hyperbolic process of vilification undoubtedly reached its highest climax with two major early modern authors. The Life written by Thomas More – The History of King Richard the Third (ca. 1514) – and the play written by William Shakespeare – King Richard III (ca. 1591) – may be considered the epitomes of the tradition that has forever shaped the king as a monster. In this text, I focus on the way More and Shakespeare exploit and amplify the vituperative historiographical tradition, though mostly based on rumour, uncertainties and legendary elements. Within this widely accepted tradition, both authors manage to shape a solid portrait of Richard III, an exemplum not to be imitated or followed, but whose performance, built through a set of powerful rhetorical devices, is masterful, both in the Life and in the play.
- On righteousness and dignity : two challenging issues since early modern timesPublication . Relvas, Maria de JesusConcepts such as righteousness, equality, tolerance and freedom are nowadays considered fundamental issues that should prevail in any society. Balance and righteousness thrive however on a very thin layer. We are, in fact, living in an era of duality and antithetical paradigms. This essay approaches two Renaissance authors who dealt with the same matters in their works, at a very different time and through different ways of reflection: Thomas More and Sir Walter Raleigh.
- Icons of supremacy and the birth of an empire: two portraits of Elizabeth IPublication . Relvas, Maria de JesusWhen Portugal and Spain ruled the oceans and took possession of the known world, having divided it into two halves, England occupied a modest insular position, excluded from the big events related to the Discoveries. However, in a short period of time, the nation was to secure a leading place, due to the strategic maritime policy undertaken by Elizabeth I, the monarch who had once been considered the least eligible of the Tudor descendants. In a peculiar context and founded on diverse propaganda policies, namely a munificent emblematic iconography interwoven with literature, the consolidation both of the Tudor Myth and of the Queen’s sovereignty is closely related to the birth of the British Empire. Bearing such matters in mind, I will analyse The Armada Portrait (ca. 1588) and The Ditchley Portrait (ca. 1592), after briefly approaching The Coronation Portrait (ca. 1600), for they constitute the embodiment and materialisation of two powerful icons of supremacy: Elizabeth Tudor and Britannia.
- “Fair eyes, sweet lips, dear heart” : a dama idealizada e a idealização da dama no tempo de Isabel TudorPublication . Relvas, Maria de JesusO ensaio debruça-se sobre a produção lírica inglesa durante a Era Isabelina, tendo em consideração as tradições culturais que nela se plasmaram, sobretudo o Neoplatonismo. São analisados alguns poemas, tendo como centro a entidade feminina do discurso lírico, explorando os recursos estilísticos e a peculiar cosmovisão da época.
- Beyond time and oblivion : Sir Robert Sidney’s autograph manuscriptPublication . Relvas, Maria de JesusDealing with ancient manuscript or old printed texts often constitutes a difficult task, especially to philologists and editors, for two main reasons: the precarious state of preservation of the documents and the uncertainty regarding their origin, authenticity and authorship. These problems are aggravated by spurious versions, due to the publication of truncated works, poorly supervised miscellanies and non-authorised editions. Sir Robert Sidney’s literary text constitutes an exception amidst such vicissitudes, once the original corpus is wholly contained in a notebook exhibiting the organisation and unity conceived by the author himself. Today, there is no evidence that any loose poems, either autograph or copied by amanuenses, were in circulation among members of the Elizabethan court society. The notebook was kept in private collections for four centuries, which probably explains why it was so well preserved. In fact, only in 1984 would P.J. Croft’s fine edition bring the youngest Sidney’s Poems into light. In this work, I approach Croft’s perceptive, accurate philological study that eventually rescued from oblivion a remarkable piece both of the Elizabethan lyric poetry and of the English Renaissance, and, at the same time, look into Robert Sidney’s peculiar, careful and original formatting of his own autograph manuscript.
- The renaissance portraits of two kings and one cardinalPublication . Relvas, Maria de JesusAt a time when the word biography had not yet been coined, the written portraits were called 'Lives' and contain such an abundance of puzzling elements that one is led to wonder about the characters created by the authors and the intentions they had to shape them in such a way. The Renaissance concepts of history, literature, fiction and factual truth, as well as the authors’ special involvement in their narratives are substantially different from those ones prevailing in the precedent and posterior ages, and are in part responsible for the textual peculiarities. Bearing all these aspects in mind, the essay approaches the 'Lives' of Richard III, Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey, written by Thomas More, Francis Bacon and George Cavendish, respectively, and the elaborate ways the three authors approached and shaped their subjects.
- Avaliação alternativa digital da oralidade “Em Qualquer Lugar do Mundo”Publication . Nobre, Ana; Relvas, Maria de JesusA avaliação de competências requer uma abordagem na qual conhecimentos, capacidades e atitudes estão integrados, o que implica, necessariamente, o recurso a uma variedade de estratégias de avaliação. Neste contexto, surge o que alguns autores designam como a Cultura de Avaliação. Por sua vez, os ambientes de aprendizagem em e-learning no ensino superior exigem o repensar de outras formas de avaliação digital. Assim, a utilização de novas ferramentas de comunicação online (tecnologias digitais) e o uso de novos modos de avaliação digital na área científica de Língua representaram um desafio para os docentes da Universidade Aberta (UAb) aquando da sua implementação, impondo, em simultâneo, um constante processo de actualização. Tendo em conta o contexto do ensino de línguas estrangeiras na UAb, são apresentadas algumas dessas estratégias e soluções de avaliação digital da competência oral – nomeadamente, a compreensão e a produção.
- Sir Walter Raleigh and Guiana : a mysterious search, a metaphorical discoveryPublication . Relvas, Maria de JesusThe essay analises Sir Walter Raleigh's report (1595) of his search for Guiana, as well as his reflection on the New World and its inhabitants, which is, in many aspects, different from his contemporaries.
- Lear and Quijote, two wanderers on uneven pathsPublication . Relvas, Maria de JesusKing Lear of Britain and Don Quijote de la Mancha, both old and frail, are dwellers of two very different worlds and eras. The ways they were devised and shaped by William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes generate nonetheless diverse similarities that emphatically expose crucial traits of the human nature. The meaningful, more obvious dichotomies in the texts – such as Reality/Fantasy, Sight/Blindness, Truth/Falsehood, Loyalty/Treachery – frame the complexity of the protagonists and are metaphors of their antithetical features. On the other hand, their alienation, misapprehension and distortion of the surrounding realities turn them into wanderers on uneven, problematic paths, while their frail physical condition discloses a surface layer that encapsulates assertive individuals. This essay approaches Shakespeare’s and Cervantes’ texts by focusing on such aspects, as well as on the respective contextualisation. Each work constitutes a challenging exemplum of a unique, proficuous broad age that wisely amalgamated the old and the new: amidst a multitude of cultural traditions, King Lear primarily embodies the expansion of Tragedy, while Don Quijote de la Mancha primarily materialises the transition to a new stage of Modernity.
- Nota prévia e Introdução [da obra] Uma Apologia da Poesia (1595)Publication . Relvas, Maria de JesusNota Prévia e Introdução à tradução para português de An Apology for Poetry (1595), de Sir Philip Sidney