The poetic, the prophetic, and the pathetic in “Pelas Tabelas”, by Chico Buarque
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/1517-106X/2024e62126Abstract
This paper presents an analysis of the song “Pelas Tabelas”, by Chico Buarque, and explores its main allusion: the Biblical figure of John the Baptist as a symbol of resistance to tyranny, violence, and irrationality. Buarque uses poetry, irony, and references to the Brazilian culture in order to create a story of love and alienation with pathetic intensity. The paper contextualizes the song in the scope of Buarque’s musical oeuvre and in the political moment of the Brazilian history – the 1980’s – in which a great movement for the reestablishment of democracy was on its way: the movement called “Diretas Já”. This analysis proposes a dialogue with the fields of cultural studies, theology, and literature. It shows that Buarque’s song is imbued with the poetic, the prophetic, and the pathetic.
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