This paper is about the relation between history and literature. Besides the interaction between two distinct cultural areas, this kind of study can also indicate new approaches to historical phenomena. Literature can report official history from a satiric point of view, using the "laugh" to understand historical processes and to criticize dominant versions of history. In this sense the dialogue between literature and history can point out tensions in history and in the interpretations and representations of the past. Here we analyze events of Brazilian history and Murilo Mendes' poetical interpretations.
history; literature; Murilo Mendes; painting; poetry
