Three is Better Than One: An Analysis of Fernando Pessoa and His Heteronyms

Writer Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa had a very dynamic way of writing poems because of his countless personalities. Pessoa was known to write poems as different personas, which made each of his works very different from each other. Pessoa had a total of 72 different heteronyms, which “were individuals with their own history, biography, personal characteristics and unmistakable literary style” (5).These heteronyms included himself, because even his own person was a heteronym on its own” (3). Some of his most famous alter egos were Alberto Caeiro, Ricardo Reis, and Alvaro de Campos. Each were influenced by some of his favorite authors and possibly the many different stages in his life. His collection of English poems written by such personas greatly showed the variance between each character and their influence on his works.

Fernando Pessoa was born in Lisbon, Portugal on June 13, 1888 and died on November 30, 1935. He lived a rather morbid childhood and had to experience grief early in his life because at the age of five his father Joaquim de Seabra Pessoa died of tuberculosis. As if that was not traumatizing enough, six months later Fernando's baby brother, Jorge, passed away. “His paternal grandmother suffered from insanity and was in and out of mental hospitals for the last twelve years of her life” (3). He then had to relocate to South Africa with his new stepfather and mother. His childhood was relatively filled with death, intensity, and constant change. Labeled as an introvert, Pessoa started his creation of false identities even in his childhood. He was described as “meek and inoffensive and inclined to avoid association with his schoolfellows” (1). From my point of view it appears that Pessoa might have created all th...

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...Works Cited

1. Ciuraru, Carmela. "Fernando Pessoa & His Heteronyms." Nom De Plume: A (Secret) History of Pseudonyms. 1st ed. New York: Harper, 2011. N. pag. Fernando Pessoa & His Heteronyms. Harper. Web. 15 Mar. 2014

2. Coon, Dennis, and John O. Mitterer. "Dissociative Disorders." Psychology A Journey. 5e ed. Belmont: John David Hague, 2014, 2011. 512. Print.

3. Harriet Monroe Poetry Institute. "Fernando Pessoa." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.

4. Kahn, Karim. "The Curious Case of Fernando Pessoa." - from The Secret Lives, Hidden Guises Issue. Somethinkblue, 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.

5. Lachman, Gary. "The Magical World of Fernando Pessoa." The Magical World of Fernando Pessoa. Gary Lachman, n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.

6. "Poetry of Fernando Pessoa-English Translation." Web log post. Fernando Pessoa. Blogger, 19 May 2004. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.