About the Serious Message of the Play "Auto da Compadecida"

Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject Romance Studies - Portuguese Studies, grade: 65, University of Birmingham, course: BA Modern Languages, language: English, abstract: -[Auto da Compadecida] constrói-se a partir dos textos múltiplos que ... se mesclam.- (Santos: 1999, 265). Here Santos has described one of the defining characteristics of the text. Perhaps this mix of elements is a contributing factor to Sussasunäs universal popularity - the undeniably comedic elements, except those relevant only to a Northeast Brazilian audience, are certainly entertaining in any language. Maybe the -serious message-, which could indeed reasonably be said to form the -heart of the play-, is as well so universal in nature that it addresses any audience. In order to access this message, however, the audience must at first be entertained and subtly educated. I would argue that the comic elements, though obvious, are integral to this process, rather than existing as an inferior technique -despite- which the moral can be communicated.