Edgar Prestage

“ The first extends to his imprisonment and breathes only love and pleasure, while the main theme of the second part, written in prison, is his saudade for Marilia and past happiness. Gonzaga borrowed his forms from the best models, Anacreon and Theocritus, but the matter, except for an occasional imitation of Petrarch, the natural, elegant style and the harmonious metrification, are all his own. The booklet comprises the most celebrated collection of erotic poetry dedicated to a single person in the Portuguese tongue; indeed its popularity is so great as to exceed its intrinsic merit. ”

“ A wealthy Portuguese gentleman, married to a lady of colour, charitably received him into his house, and when the poet recovered, he married their young daughter who had nursed him through the attack. ”

“ Later, this penalty was commuted into one of ten years of exile to Mozambique, with a death sentence if he should return to America. After having spent three years in prison, Gonzaga sailed in May 1792 for Mozambique and shortly after his arrival a violent fever almost ended his life. ”