Ferreira, António

Related Category: Spanish and Portuguese Literature: Biographies

(äntô´ny fərē´rə), c.1528–69, Portuguese dramatist and poet. Ferreira served as a privy councillor and a magistrate. Influenced by the Italian Renaissance, he wrote his great play Inés de Castro (c.1557), employing Italian meters and classical form. The only Renaissance tragedy in Portuguese, it was translated into English in 1697. Ferreira also wrote comedies, sonnets, and odes. His writing is generally grave and elevated and displays his classical learning. He was important in the movement to free Portuguese literature and language from Spanish influence.