Until the end of Canto Four, all the reader has been hearing about are the so-called glorious and honorable conquests of Portuguese kings and warriors. Gama gives an exciting rendition of these past kings’ adventures and battles – with incredible attention to detail – speaking highly and with praise of the victors.
It becomes clear by the end of Canto Four, though, that Gama undertook this journey so that he, too, could receive the high praise, respect, and honor that the past kings and conquerers were given. He even says on page 117 that “valour lauded flourishes the more, recognition teels men to high adventure.” With this, we know what Gama’s true motives were.
But it is not surprising that an adventurer like Gama sought fame and fortune. What is more interesting is that Luís Vas De Camões included the old man’s monologue on pages 119-121. This old man disapproved of the voyage, and made a quite lengthy remark about the foolish desire to risk one’s life and to take other lives all for the sake of honor and fame. (Important little detail: on page 119, the old man shakes his head 3 times at the crew before beginning his monologue. Another nod to the importance of certain numbers in this epic.)
I found it interesting that after hearing all about the glory and bravery of the Portuguese, we finish the lengthy history of the conquerers with an argument against everything they had just done. If Vasco De Gama is the presumed “hero” of this epic, why are his actions and motives questioned so early in the story? Perhaps this shows that the intentions of a hero are not always “pure” – or maybe De Gama isn’t our hero after all.
Really interesting thoughts. I have no idea what De Camões’ intentions were in including the passage about the old man. Like Nhora said in class, the passage strongly lends itself to a valid anti-colonial interpretation in a postcolonial context. However, I doubt the likelihood of any true authorial intent for this interpretation; De Camões wouldn’t go to such lengths to elevate the status of Portugal through myth and metaphor if he wanted to write an ironic narrative. I think the answer may lie closer to what what you said about a hero’s intentions not always being “pure.” Perhaps De Camões is using this passage to illustrate the classical Greek/Roman trope of the flawed/tragic hero found in so many myths (think Achilles, Ajax, etc.)