Os horizontes de expectativa da primeira recepção crítica do Eu, de Augusto dos Anjos (1912 a 1914)

Abstract

The present work analyzed nine essays plus one interview, dedicated to the first edition of “Eu”, by Augusto dos Anjos, released in 1912. The critical essays in question were published in newspapers and comprise the period from the publication of the work to the poet's death, in 1914. As a theoretical foundation, the work analyzes, firstly, the problems of impressionist criticism. Then, it aims to be based on the Aesthetics of Reception, in works such as História da literatura como provocação à teoria literária, by Hans Robert Jauss, which allowed us to approach the concept of “horizon of expectation”; A literatura e o leitor, organized by Luiz Costa Lima, and Estética da recepção e história da literatura, by Regina Zilberman. We complement our theoretical reference with the works Altas Literaturas, by Leyla Perrone-Moisés, in which we promote a reflection on the criteria for canon composition – as well as on the power relations that this practice implies –, and the Estrutura da lírica moderna, by Hugo Friedrich, that we appropriate the concepts of “positive/negative categories”. As a result, we noted that, although some critical texts from the period discussed exalt the positive characteristics of the Self, in general, the position of the critic was of a biographical, psychological, impressionist or deterministic nature, and, based on these factors, the work was rejected by part of the specialized critic in its first release