On the instance of lack and love in Uma faca só lâmina

Abstract

This paper proposes a reading of Uma faca só lâmina (ou: serventia das ideias fixa), by João Cabral de Melo Neto, considering elements of the author’s poetics, searching to articulate its compositional principles and the treatment of amorous desire as a theme in the poem. For such, critical bibliography on the poet is brought in addition to other studies to support the discussion about the chosen themes. From that, we attempt to understand how the lack is not only treated as a theme in the poem but is also an integral part of its composition and of the lyrical subject.