Lessons > Grammar Play

Students will be introduced to the work of one of the most important Portuguese writers of the 20th century, Fernando Pessoa, and reflect on different literary styles and how they convey different personalities and lusophone cultures of reception. In particular, students will be able to identify and reflect on the effects of literary elements. They will get familiarized with some literary concepts such as autobiography, heteronym, metaphor, narrator, and pseudonym. They will analyze a variety of biographies in indicative signed as Pessoa’s best-known heteronyms. Later, students will produce written and spoken discourse related to Pessoa’s alter egos, in which they will distinguish linguistically and conceptually between who we are and who we think we are using indicative and subjunctive moods.

Texts, Genres & Practices

• The poet Pessoa will be represented through texts, portraits, signatures, and sketches. This will help students visualize different aspects of his distinct literary personalities. Students will read different literary styles that will expose them to different sentence and paragraph structures, spelling, and punctuation. They will also listen to Brazilian and Continental Portuguese and will get to compare both.

Cultural Knowledge & Perspectives

• One of the most salient features of the Portuguese way of being is “saudade,” which is represented in some of these texts. Although Pessoa is Portuguese, his poems have been adapted by famous Brazilian singers and songwriters, which expresses the feature of “lusofonia.” Another important cultural aspect included in this activity is geographical. For instance, the relevant place the city of Lisbon has in Pessoa’s work.

Language Use & Language Play

• Starting with the title, this activity questions assumptions about who do we think we are and how many personalities we have. Reviewing the difference between the use of the indicative and subjunctive moods based on who we are and how many personalities coexist within the self is central to this lesson. Students will engage with those two moods creatively.