A representação do espaço rural na literatura brasileira: uma análise aprofundada da obra Morte e Vida Severina

Abstract

This study analyzes Morte e Vida Severina by João Cabral de Melo Neto, with a primary focus on the representation of the Brazilian Northeast sertão. Using a qualitative approach, the research aims to understand how the poem dramatizes the social, economic, and cultural conditions of the sertão, portraying it as both a concrete and symbolic space within Brazilian literature. The study questions the concept of “regionalism” and its implications for reading Northeastern literary production. The theoretical framework is grounded in Alfredo Bosi (2002), who sees regionalism as a critical reflection of Brazil’s historical and social tensions, and Antonio Candido (1975), whose idea of a literary system highlights the role of literature in shaping national identity. João Cabral’s work is interpreted as a poetic testimony of the inequalities of the Northeast, presenting the sertão not merely as a geographic region but as a powerful metaphor for social exclusion in Brazil.