Violence against women in romance de Lula-lua by Zila Mamede

an analysis of lyrical representations

Abstract

From a vast literary production spanning the period from 1953 – debuting with Rosa de pedra – to 1984 – with A herança, her last publication – many themes emerge in Zila Mamede’s poetry, among them the figure of women in society. Grounded in this perspective of the author’s poetry, a canon of Brazilian literature produced in Rio Grande do Norte, this work seeks to analyze lyrical representations of gender-based violence in the context of modern poetry in the verses of “Romance de Lula-Lua” (2023). Regarding methodology, we follow the approaches of Casarin and Casarin (2012) and Gil (1996). Thus, this study is based on a bibliographical approach, with exploratory and explanatory characteristics, as it relies on written documentation and aims to disseminate lyrical representations of the female figure in the context of violence. The theoretical framework for Zila Mamede’s poetry includes studies by Alexandre Alves (2006), Brito e Siqueira (2022). As a theoretical basis for modern poetry and violence, we use Alfredo Bosi (1993), Araújo e Barros (2006), Hugo Friedrich (1979), Jaime Ginzburg (2010; 2012), Karl Erik Schollhammer (2000), among others. In the poetic text analyzed, the result points to a figuration of denunciation of the abusive context experienced by the lyrical self, traversed by the relationship of power and possession between the male being and the female figure, allowing us to reflect on the timelessness of the poem, which raises discussions about the current social reality of women regarding the violation of their bodies, considering the year of the first publication of Exercise of the Word (1975).