Bell surveys Portuguese writing from the late twelfth century onward: the dance-songs called cossantes and the great cancioneiros, the early chroniclers, the plays of Gil Vicente, the epic and lyrics of Camões, and the historians of the voyages to India. He argues that the Portuguese achievement has been badly underrated for want of criticism, not of talent.
A learned, readable guide for anyone curious about a literature English readers rarely meet. Download the free EPUB.