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The Library of the World’s Best Literature. An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.
João Baptista de Silva Leitão de Almeida Garrett (1799–1854)
Garrett, João Baptista de Silva Leitão de Almeida (äl-mā’ē-dä gär-ret’). A distinguished Portuguese poet, dramatist, and politician; born in Oporto, Feb. 4, 1799; died in Lisbon, Dec. 10, 1854. As a man of letters he endeavored to free Portuguese poetry from the shackles of pseudo-classicism and to inspire it with new life by basing it on national forms and traditions. His efforts were also directed towards the creation of a purely national drama. His principal works are: ‘Catão,’ a tragedy (1820), among the best in Portuguese literature; ‘Camões,’ a romantic epic (1825), glorifying the life and death of Portugal’s greatest poet; ‘Doña Branca,’ a satirical epic (1826), scourging monasticism; ‘Adozinda,’ a lyrical epic (1828); ‘Bernal Francez,’ a cycle of romances (1829); ‘Auto de Gil Vicente’ (1838), pronounced the first purely Portuguese drama; ‘O Arco de Sant’ Anna,’ a historical novel (1846); ‘Romanceiro,’ a collection of Portuguese ballads (3 vols., 1851–53).