Revisiting Neo-Latin Theater in Portuguese America

Abstract

Neo-Latin theater became an important vehicle for the Jesuit pedagogy, which aimed at the education and perpetuation of the elites in the colony, while promoting and reinforcing social behaviors and power structures. As the contents and esthetics of these plays clearly subscribed to the Tridentine reforms, the spectacles were persuasive and spoke directly to the senses, often resorting to music and dance. During an earlier period, discrepancies between guidelines coming from Europe and the reality in the colony led to certain adaptations and concessions in matters such as costumes, venues, and the attitude of missionaries towards women. Some of these discrepancies disappeared during the seventeenth century, while others remained until the banishing of the Jesuits from Portuguese domains.

Keywords

• Teatro neolatino
• Companhia de Jesus
• pedagogia jesuítica
• Brasil colônia
• teatro musical.