Francisco Manoel de Nascimento facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Francisco Manoel de Nascimento
Born	(1734-12-21)21 December 1734 Lisbon, Portugal
Died	25 February 1819(1819-02-25) (aged 84) Paris, France
Nationality	Portuguese
Occupation	Poet

Francisco Manoel de Nascimento (born December 21, 1734 – died February 25, 1819) was a famous Portuguese poet. He is better known by his pen name, Filinto Elísio. This name was given to him by the Marquise of Alorna. Francisco was thought to be the son of a boat-owner in Lisbon, Portugal.

Early Life and Education

Francisco loved Portuguese customs and traditions from a young age. Even his humanist education did not change this. He also knew a lot about popular stories and songs. These were printed on loose sheets and sold in the streets. This helped him have a rich vocabulary. His strong love for his country helped him become a leader in the Romanticism literary movement.

Nascimento started writing poems when he was fourteen. He became a priest in 1754. Soon after, he became a treasurer at the Chagas church in Lisbon. He lived a quiet life, studying Latin classics. He especially liked the Roman poet Horace. He also spent time with friends who loved literature.

These friends wanted to bring back the fame of Camões. Camões was a great Portuguese poet who was almost forgotten. They believed the Quinhentistas (writers from the 1500s) were the best poets. They also liked the ideas of the French Encyclopaedists.

Nascimento's first published work was a translation of an opera by Pietro Metastasio. Most of his early work was translations. Even though these works were small, they made other poets jealous. At this time, a group called the Arcadia tried to improve writing style. They wanted to make the Portuguese language pure. However, they often copied classical styles too much.

Nascimento and other writers formed their own group. They met at the Ribeira das Naus. The two groups argued and wrote poems against each other. This "war of the poets" ended when the Arcadia group broke up. Nascimento then became close friends with D. Maria de Almeida. She was the sister of the famous Marquise of Alorna. He wrote songs for her, and their friendship inspired some of his most emotional poems.

Facing Challenges and Exile

This was a happy time for Nascimento, but it did not last. When Queen Maria I came to power, things changed. There was a strong move against the ideas of Marquis of Pombal. Religious intolerance grew stronger.

In June 1778, Nascimento was accused by the Portuguese Inquisition. They said he had unusual ideas and read books by modern thinkers. The Inquisition secretly investigated him. They ordered his arrest without letting him defend himself. He was supposed to be arrested on July 14. Luckily, he received a warning. He escaped to the house of a French merchant named Verdier. He hid there for eleven days. Then, his friend the Marquis of Marialva helped him get on a French ship. This ship took him to Havre, France.

Nascimento then moved to Paris. His first years there were pleasant. But soon, his situation became difficult. He learned that the Inquisition had taken all his property. He tried to support himself by teaching and writing. However, he barely had enough money to live.

In 1792, a fan named António de Araújo invited him to stay at his house. António was a Portuguese minister in the Dutch Republic. But Nascimento did not like the country, the people, or the language. In 1797, António went to Paris for a diplomatic mission. Nascimento went with him. He spent the rest of his life in and around Paris.

Later Years and Legacy

Nascimento always deeply loved his home country. He wished to die in Portugal. In 1796, a royal order allowed him to return. It also said his property should be given back. But there were delays. Then, the French invaded Portugal. The Portuguese royal family moved to Brazil. This ended his hopes of returning home.

Before this, the Count of Barca helped him get a job from the Portuguese government. He was asked to translate a book called De Rebus Emanuelis. Some Portuguese friends in Paris helped him during his last years. He also enjoyed the friendship of his biographer, Alexandre Sane, and Ferdinand Dénis. The famous poet Lamartine wrote a poem for him. He was also respected by Chateaubriand. In Portugal, his fans were called Os Filintistas.

His time in exile and his suffering changed his ideas. It made his best poems the ones he wrote between the ages of seventy and eighty-five. When he died, people knew that Portugal had lost its most important poet of that time.

His Poetry

Another famous poet, Almeida Garrett, said Nascimento was like a whole academy. He praised Nascimento's knowledge of the Portuguese language. Garrett said no poet since Camões had helped the language so much. Nascimento's greatest achievement was connecting literature with the life of the nation again.

Nascimento's life and works connect the 18th and 19th centuries. He linked the Neo-Classical period with Romanticism. Books like Wieland's Oberon and Chateaubriand's Martyrs opened new ideas for him. His contos, or stories about Portuguese life, have a true romantic feeling. These are his most natural works. However, his strong patriotic odes are the most famous. These include "To Neptune speaking to the Portuguese" and "To the liberty and independence of the United States."

After leaving Portugal, he stopped using rhyme in his poems. He felt it limited his thoughts and expression. His poems are very well-made, but sometimes they are a bit harsh. They also use many old-fashioned words. His translations from Latin, French, and Italian are accurate but can be rough. His translations of Racine and the Fables of Lafontaine lack the simple beauty of the originals. But Nascimento's blank verse translation of the Martyrs is often better than Chateaubriand's original prose.

See also

In Spanish: Filinto Elísio para niños