O Cangaço na figura de lampião: a imagem de um cangaceiro memorizada nos folhetos de cordel.

Abstract

The present work has as objective the presentation and discussion through the cordel literature of the image of Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, aka Lampião, the biggest representative of cangaço, as a characteristic phenomenon of the Northeast region of Brazil. The cangaceiro Lampião occupies a privileged place in the discourses present in Cordel's literature. In the verses written between 1926 and 2001 his image is presented in his ambiguity: sometimes as hero and justice, sometimes as bloodthirsty bandit. This paper proposes a discussion about the ways of representation of this cangaceiro, that is, of the various “Lampião” present in this literature.