Fernndo Pessoa #06 - The Chess Game

Under the heteronym, Ricardo Reis, the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa wrote poetry altogether different from that which he wrote at the hand of Álvaro de Campos, whose poems have been presented previously on this blog & podcast. Reis has come to be known as the "sad Epicurian". This means that, accordingly to the principals of Epicurian thought, one can find happiness in almost every situation through the moderation of desires & passions as well as through the cultivation of friendships. Moreover, with this  stoic optimism the fear of death is avoidable & is advisable to avoid if finding happiness in any situation is the objective. However, while Reis maintains this, his optimism does not reach the same degree as that of traditional Epicuriansism; given that he is nevertheless modern.

In this poem, the game of chess serves as an effective metaphor for vocation in general. The metaphor is dramatized by the nearby war occurring which the two players indifferently ignore. Particularly challenging in the poem is the fact that the players do not even go to the rescue of their wives & children when they are being raped, killed, maimed, etc. This, however, is because in Epicurianism there still exists a hierarchy; which in our humanitarianism, is practically non-existent.