O negro em Castro Alves e Solano Trindade

Abstract

This study examines the representation of Black people in the poetry of Castro Alves and Solano Trindade, highlighting the differences and similarities in the poetic strategies used to address slavery, racism, and the social condition of Black individuals in distinct periods of Brazilian history. The research aimed to analyze how both authrs denounce the condition of Black people through their poetry, under the lens of Afro-Brazilian literature. The study is qualitative and bibliographic, employing an analytic-comparative approach supported by literary critics such as Antonio Candido (2006), Eduardo de Assis Duarte (2022), Rafael Balseiro Zin (2019), and Zilá Bernd (1988), among others. The poems “Navio Negreiro,” “Vozes d’África,” and “A canção do africano” by Castro Alves, and “Navio Negreiro,” “Sou negro,” and “Tem gente com fome” by Solano Trindade were analyzed considering their historical context, stylistic features, and underlying ideologies. The findings indicate that, in Castro Alves, the Black figure is often depicted as an object of compassion and denunciation, portrayed through the perspective of a white poet, whereas in Solano Trindade, the Black subject emerges as an active voice, affirming identity, resistance, and social protagonism. The study also reveals the continuity of social engagement in both authors, despite significant differences in representational methods and historical frameworks. It concludes that the poetry of both writers fulfills an important social function by denouncing injustices and prompting reflection on the Black experience in Brazil. The research reinforces the relevance of Afro- Brazilian literature as a tool of resistance, memory, and identity affirmation