Classical Reception and Autofiction in Marília de Dirceu

Abstract

Combining pastoral and elegiac motifs within its lyrical framework, Tomás Antônio Gonzaga’s Marília de Dirceu engages deeply with the Latin classical tradition, particularly with Virgil’s Eclogues and Ovid’s Tristia. This article analyzes how Gonzaga skillfully integrates these models, producing an autofictional narrative that thematizes his political imprisonment. By balancing intertextual analysis with allegorical interpretation, the study aims to demonstrate how Gonzaga employs Virgilian and Ovidian elements in constructing the figure of the “sad shepherd,” who, in the second part of Marília, is compelled to distance himself from his beloved, his flocks, and his lands. It concludes that the use of these intertexts not only enriches and reinforces the allegorical plot of the work but also serves as a strategy for composing a generically complex autofictional subject.