I said that I would write about these as soon as I read them. Considering my immense obsession with Pessoa's work, it was inevitable that I would eventually take up “A Little Larger Than the Entire Universe”. I haven't finished it yet, but I already have a few favourite poems (“The Chess Players” and most of Ricardo Reis' poetry; “Opiary” by Alvaro de Campos, etc.) and a few I wish were included such as “The Tobacco Shop” and “Antinous”. But I'm not here to discuss LGBT+ literature yet, even though de Campos' mere existence is LGBT+ literature. I'm here to ask what's the difference between an opiary and a tobacco shop and why am I so obsessed with this? Let us descend into madness and decipher this mystery.
Let's start with what they have in common, aside from the decade of publication: existentialism, pain, and escapism. In both poems, de Campos is in pain simply because he exists and thinks about it. He laments his fate and says it is all an empty facade, nothing but pretending. He sees himself as a mere naval engineer amongst many others, sitting by a window like many others. He wants to escape, to dream once again, which is why he takes his drugs of choice: opium and tobacco. Just as Bernardo Soares has done nothing but dream, Alvaro de Campos has done nothing but smoke and dream of a far east. To him, life tastes as bitter as tobacco. To numb this, he takes opium so as not to feel sick anymore.
Also, from a structural standpoint, the two are pretty similar. They introduce the reader into the poet's universe, making them accustomed to the central feeling of each work. “Tobacco Shop” starts by stating that the lyrical voice is nothing unless they let go of their inner world. “Opiary” states that existence feels empty and sickly without opium, without escapism. Both end by taking the reader out of the dreams' world and grounding them in reality. Since we're dealing with modernist masterpieces, rhyme almost doesn't exist. The stanzas aren't structured traditionally either since the number of lines also varies. But that doesn't make them any less powerful than their classicist counterparts.
Now, let's discuss symbols and motifs. An obvious one is opium or tobacco, a symbol of his dreams. It is both a stimulant and an anaesthetic. To my understanding, he feels that reality is restricting him in terms of creativity. Life sickens him to the point where nothing entertains him more than the psychoactive effect of the drug does. Opium opens the door to his true potential, even though it is achieved in an imaginary world. Smoking fuels his imagination and enriches his inner world, allowing him to become a better poet. Another motif would be the window. It opens to the outside world the writer does not want to acknowledge. He sits by the window because he needs its light, but never looks through it. He remains focused on his room, his paper, and his inner world. Thus, he does not crave to travel to China and India since he has both and more inside his mind.
As stated at the beginning of the chapter, de Campos writes about his sensations. Therefore, I assume he thinks more with his heart and other head than the one on his shoulders. As much as he would probably dislike the deep-thinking and the gods of the ancient world, I see Alvaro de Campos in the same way I would see Apollo or Achilles. On second thought, I could bet he was inspired by Apollo since both love the arts and both are bisexual disasters. In addition to that, both would need a therapist but for wildly different reasons. Either way, de Campos doesn't find a point of existence without his crutch.
Still, we have to remember that de Campos wasn't a natural person. He was simply a well-thought-out character or alter ego of Fernando Pessoa. If Soares (and probably Reis too) is the closest to the actual person, I would argue that Caeiro and de Campos are the farthest. Pessoa “feels with his thoughts” while de Campos does the exact opposite. As for Caeiro, I assume he does neither think nor feel since he just sees. But there's also the possibility that all of these are simply fractions of the writer's personality, fleshed-out characters with a distinct writing style and philosophy. That's basically what made Pessoa immortal, living in his rich inner world.
All in all, I like these poems and I can see why Fernando Pessoa is considered the most important writer in Portuguese literature. He and his club, Orpheus, helped modernize the country's literature and overall art. Did I mention that he also defended gay artists and fought against the censorship of the Salazar regime? Anyway, Fernando Pessoa seems a fantastic, almost out-of-this-world creature. At some point, it's almost hard to believe he existed. But I'll just wrap it up here with a few sonnets I wrote. Now, back to the tea! 🫖
(source: https://philippepatricioart.blogspot.com/2015/07/fernando-pessoa.html)
1. Light
Everyone saw Apollo
With his golden hair and bright eyes;
But few would see the sorrow
That hid behind those lies.
Often smiling with rolling teardrops,
He sat on rooftops, lamenting
The fate that his laugh robbed
And this chaos is cementing.
His heart kept pounding, though he was unaware;
Piercing him, rotting from inside,
Was an arrow that brought warfare
When it would collide with his mind.
Will he rise and gain strength?
Or jump to shorten the length?
2. Bi Morning
The sun rose high, painting the sky,
As the whole galaxy showed up;
Through the dawn, birds would fly
As the morning began its glow-up.
The shades of purple, pink and blue
Would brighten the painting
Without giving a single clue
Of the silver moon that was fainting.
Apollo craves both blue and red
As he never has a preference
Of whom gets in his bed
As long as maturity is his reference.
He looks both ways in every room
For he might find his bride or groom.
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