Silva, Antonio Jose da

Silva, António José da 

Born May 8, 1705, in Rio de Janeiro; died Oct. 19, 1739, in Lisbon. Portuguese playwright.

Accused of secretly professing Judaism, Silva was burned at the stake during the Inquisition. He wrote such low comedies as The Life of Don Quixote of La Mancha (staged 1733). His plays Life of Aesop (staged 1734), Amphitryon (staged 1736), Labyrinth of Crete (1736), and The Wars of the Rosemary and the Marjoram (1737), while using plots from mythology, criticized the mores of Portuguese society.

WORKS

Obras completas, vols. 1–4. Lisbon, 1957–58.
In Russian translation:
[”Fragmenty iz p’es.”] In Ispanskie i porlugal’skie poety, zhertvy inkvizitsii. [Compiled by V. Parnakh.] Leningrad-Moscow, 1934.

REFERENCES

Braga, T. O poeta Judeu e a inquisitcão. Lisbon, 1910.
Jucá(Filho), C. António José, oJudeu. Rio de Janeiro, 1940.