Machado de Assis e John Milton: diálogos pertinentes

Abstract

In this dissertation, a discussion on the influence of the English poet of the 17th century, John Milton, on Machado de Assis´s oeuvre is presented. It is the aim of this study to provide a different perspective on the notion of influence, using this term under erasure, in an operation proposed by the French-Algerian philosopher Jacques Derrida. To understand the under-erasure act upon influence, an idea that presents a binding is offered on the terms intertextuality, destinerrance, election of precursors, irony, and elective affinity. Based on these terms, the analyses on Machado de Assis´s and Milton´s texts are worked out and interact in a dialogue between these two writers. It is possible to say that Machado de Assis gives life to Milton´s oeuvre, reviving it in his literary creation, in his experiences as a reader of the English poet. Once the reception of Milton is not meaningful in the Brazilian literary context, it is also the objective of this research to entice the interest for Milton through the reading of Machado de Assis´s texts, in other words, to read Milton in a machadian way.