How poetic can prose be? A reading through Tempo e Poesia

• Author(s): Silva, João P.
• Date: 2025
• Origin: Filosofia. Revista da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto
• Document Type: Journal article
• Language: Portuguese

Description

According to Eduardo Lourenço, poetry can only be understood from poetry. For this reason, Lourenço embarked on an essayistic critique of poetry that did not merely express a judgement on both the work and the poet, but which also included the subject of the poem itself. To this end, he metaphysically problematised poetry as a means of understanding man. Contrasting the poetic with the prosaic, he conceived poetry as the most suitable language for naming human reality, considering that Man cannot be an object of knowledge for himself like others. This is due to a «silence», an «unpronounceability» of his condition, which cannot be spoken without the risk of being ontologically conditioned or reduced. If poetry is the language best suited to this naming, as it is figurative and latent, prose is not, as it describes and is patent. However, poetry and prose are two facets of language and, when Lourenço intends to conceive essays, in his own words, of «critical-poetry» or «poetical-critique», does he admit the possibility of prose being poetic? We will try to answer this question by reading a series of essays collected in Tempo e Poesia, in which Lourenço reflects on and distinguishes between the concepts of poetry and prose. We will begin with Eduardo Lourenço’s understanding of poetry, then distinguishing the poetic from the prosaic, in order to analyse the notion of «poetical-critique» and conclude with an appraisal of «poetic prose».

PT A poesia só poderá ser compreendida, segundo Eduardo Lourenço, a partir da poesia. Por isso, Lourenço encetou uma crítica ensaística da poesia que não fosse a emissão de um mero juízo de valor sobre a obra e o poeta, mas que comportasse, também, a matéria do próprio poema. Para esse fim, problematizou metafisicamente a poesia como contributo ao entendimento do Homem. Contrapondo o poético ao prosaico, concebeu a poesia como a linguagem mais adequada à nomeação da realidade humana, considerando que o Homem não pode ser um objeto de conhecimento para si como os demais. Isto deve-se a um «silêncio», uma «impronunciabilidade» da sua condição, a qual não pode ser dita sem o risco de ser condicionada ou reduzida ontologicamente. Se a poesia é a linguagem mais adequada a essa nomeação, por ser figurativa e latente, a prosa não o é, na medida em que descreve e é patente. Todavia, poesia e prosa são dois aspectos da linguagem e, Lourenço, ao tencionar conceber ensaios, nas suas palavras, de «poética-crítica» ou «crítica-poética» admitirá a possibilidade de a prosa ser poética? Procuraremos, aqui, responder a esta questão, a partir da leitura de um conjunto de ensaios coligidos em Tempo e Poesia, onde Lourenço pensa e distingue os conceitos de poesia e de prosa. Iniciaremos com o entendimento de poesia para Eduardo Lourenço, distinguindo, em seguida, o poético do prosaico, para analisarmos a noção de «críticapoética» e concluirmos com uma apreciação de «prosa poética». EN According to Eduardo Lourenço, poetry can only be understood from poetry. For this reason, Lourenço embarked on an essayistic critique of poetry that did not merely express a judgement on both the work and the poet, but which also included the subject of the poem itself. To this end, he metaphysically problematised poetry as a means of understanding man. Contrasting the poetic with the prosaic, he conceived poetry as the most suitable language for naming human reality, considering that Man cannot be an object of knowledge for himself like others. This is due to a «silence», an «unpronounceability» of his condition, which cannot be spoken without the risk of being ontologically conditioned or reduced. If poetry is the language best suited to this naming, as it is figurative and latent, prose is not, as it describes and is patent. However, poetry and prose are two facets of language and, when Lourenço intends to conceive essays, in his own words, of «critical-poetry» or «poetical-critique», does he admit the possibility of prose being poetic? We will try to answer this question by reading a series of essays collected in Tempo e Poesia, in which Lourenço reflects on and distinguishes between the concepts of poetry and prose. We will begin with Eduardo Lourenço’s understanding of poetry, then distinguishing the poetic from the prosaic, in order to analyse the notion of «poetical-critique» and conclude with an appraisal of «poetic prose».   DOI: https://doi.org/10.21747/21836892/fil41a11