Laura Smith 
About the Serious Message of the Play ‘Auto da Compadecida’ [PDF ebook] 

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 Sussasuna’s 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.