Estilo literário de Maurício Barreto : um mergulho em suas obras poéticas

Abstract

This thesis investigates the literary style of the deaf Northeastern poet Maurício Barreto, considering his aesthetic, cultural, and identity relevance within the field of Brazilian Deaf Literature. The study is based on the hypothesis that Barreto is an important representative of the three literary phases proposed by Peixoto (2023) — New Golden Age, Folklorism, and Digitalism — and that he is a creator of stylistic trends that define these periods. The research is justified by the need to value deaf authorship, to understand the aesthetic resources inherent to sign language, and to contribute to the recognition of Deaf Literature as an autonomous artistic and academic field. The general objective was to characterize the author’s literary style, emphasizing the aesthetic elements recurring in his works. The specific objectives included: cataloging his poetic production up to 2024; identifying predominant visual resources; and analyzing the form, content, and performance of three poems that represent the characteristics of the three literary phases. The theoretical framework was primarily based on Sutton-Spence (2021), Peixoto (2023), among others, who discuss Deaf Literature, aesthetics, signed poetry, and performance. The adopted methodology was qualitative, quantitative, and interpretative in nature, grounded in the documentary analysis of 90 signed works. The results show that Maurício Barreto stands out for his unique performative style, with strong visual appeal and bodily expressiveness, demonstrating aesthetic creativity and cultural relevance. The data indicate that the most recurrent elements were speed, repetition of handshapes, and multiple perspectives, revealing a consistent and innovative visual style. It is concluded that Maurício Barreto’s work not only contributes to the consolidation of a visual poetics in Libras but also acts as an expression of resistance, belonging, and identity affirmation within the Brazilian deaf community.