Under the heteronym, Ricardo Reis, the Portuguese poet Fernando
Pessoa wrote poetry altogether different from that which he wrote at
the hand of Álvaro de Campos, whose poems have been presented
previously on this blog & podcast.
Reis has come to be known as the "sad Epicurian". This means that,
accordingly to the principals of Epicurian thought, one can find
happiness in almost every situation through the moderation of desires
& passions as well as through the cultivation of friendships.
Moreover, with this stoic optimism the fear of death is avoidable
& is advisable to avoid if finding happiness in any situation is
the objective. However, while Reis maintains this, his optimism does
not reach the same degree as that of traditional Epicuriansism; given
that he is nevertheless modern.
In this poem, the game of chess serves as an effective metaphor for
vocation in general. The metaphor is dramatized by the nearby war
occurring which the two players indifferently ignore. Particularly
challenging in the poem is the fact that the players do not even go to
the rescue of their wives & children when they are being raped,
killed, maimed, etc. This, however, is because in Epicurianism there
still exists a hierarchy; which in our humanitarianism, is practically
non-existent.
