Matches, absences and no returns: the anti-epic speech of Lobo Antunes

Abstract

Even the praising of Portuguese glories by Camões presents an ineradicable gap for criticism of an incipient decay. Densified with Fernando Pessoa and potentiated with António Lobo Antunes, the anti-epic speech has assured its place in contemporary Portuguese literature. This article aims to discuss the decay brought by As naus and Os cus de Judas, uncovering a small, close to defenceless Portugal, left with no pomp or colonies. Lobo Antunes reconstructs its own Lusíadas, recreating colonization in spaces marked by loss and absence, characters that bear the marks of erased identities and fragmented personas, significant in contemporary features.