Abstract
Abstract In Portugal and Brazil, epic poetry is still a prominent genre in the 19th century. However, under the conditions of Romanticism, it must find both its particular position in the literary field and its own aesthetics. Aesthetic innovations are accompanied by a contemporary debate on the epic genre. This debate is held not only in poetological writings and public discussions, but especially in the various forms of paratexts, such as prefaces and annotations, as well as in the poetic text itself. This article focuses on footnotes and endnotes and shows the intricate relationship between Romantic epic poetry and scientific, especially historiographic annotations. The discourse of the annotations is dominated by three topics: epic and history; authenticity; communality and knowledge. These auto-reflective dimensions of footnotes and endnotes illustrate the problematic reconceptualization of the epic genre in the context of nation-building processes.
Published Version
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