Echoes of the Bible in José de Alencar’s Iracema

Abstract

This essay examines the epic character incorporated into the narrative of Iracema and its importance in the creation of a unique poetics that, among other influences, absorbs elements from the Homeric tradition in dealing with indigenous material in the tropics. While availing itself of the classical model, it adapts it to the Brazilian context. This essay also analyzes the ideological and stylistic connections between Alencar's novel and the Bible, with which it shares a poeticity that results from the intensive use of parallelism, with different functions and accents employed to achieve the desired aesthetic effect. The richness of the legend derives from this dual inspiration: tradition and invention.