“Testament” and “Freedom”: The Translation of Paul Éluard’s “Liberté” and World War II in Manuel Bandeira’s poetry

Abstract

Written in 1943, the poem “Testamento”, published in the collection Lira dos Cinquent’Anos, points to a shift in Manuel Bandeira’s interests as a poet, being one of the rare references to political facts in his poetry. Although the formal aspects and themes are easily recognizable from Bandeira’s style, “Testamento” rises the question about de role of poetry in a world wasted by events out of the poet’s grasp. Therefore, the poem expands on the concept of “poesie de l’événement” used to describe Bandeira’s work. About the same time, Bandeira translated Paul Éluard’s “Liberté” together with Carlos Drummond de Andrade, what shows how his concerns about the range of poetry during the war spreads to his other activities.