Exames Nacionais Secundário (Portugal) · Portuguese Language and Literature

Portuguese Literature, Language and Reading

90 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.

Practise Portuguese Literature, Language and Reading now

Random questions from this topic, one at a time. You see the answer and the explanation straight after each one.

All 90 questions

  1. Which poet wrote the national epic Os Lusíadas, published in 1572?
  2. Which historical voyage forms the central narrative of Os Lusíadas?
  3. Which writer won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998?
  4. Which of these poets created the heteronyms Alberto Caeiro, Ricardo Reis and Álvaro de Campos?
  5. In which book did Fernando Pessoa gather poems on Portuguese history, the only Portuguese-language book of poems he published in his lifetime?
  6. Which literary movement is Eça de Queirós most closely associated with?
  7. Which writer is regarded as the founder of Portuguese theatre and wrote the Auto da Barca do Inferno?
  8. What is the Portuguese word saudade usually taken to express?
  9. What are the four parts of the structure of an epic poem such as Os Lusíadas, in the order in which they appear?
  10. What is the rhyme scheme of the stanzas of Os Lusíadas, which are called oitavas?
  11. Which episode of Os Lusíadas gives voice to the giant who guards the Cape and foretells disasters for the Portuguese?
  12. Which figure of speech appears in the phrase 'um contentamento descontente' from a sonnet by Camões?
  13. Which statement best describes the heteronym Alberto Caeiro?
  14. Which heteronym of Pessoa wrote the poem 'Tabacaria' and the 'Ode Triunfal'?
  15. What is the main theme of Fernando Pessoa's poem 'Autopsicografia', which begins 'O poeta é um fingidor'?
  16. Which novel by Eça de Queirós has the subtitle 'Episódios da vida romântica' and follows three generations of a Lisbon family?
  17. Which novel by Saramago is based on the building of the convent of Mafra and features Baltasar and Blimunda?
  18. Which dramatic work by Almeida Garrett is built on the legend of D. Sebastião and the return of a presumed dead husband?
  19. Who delivered the Sermão de Santo António aos Peixes, in which fish are the audience for a lesson about human vices?
  20. Which movement started in Portugal in 1527, when Sá de Miranda returned from Italy with the sonnet and the decasyllable?
  21. What distinguishes a cantiga de amigo from a cantiga de amor in medieval Galician-Portuguese poetry?
  22. Which revolt by young writers, led by Antero de Quental and Teófilo Braga in 1865, opened the Realist period?
  23. Which magazine, published in 1915, launched Portuguese Modernism and included Fernando Pessoa and Mário de Sá-Carneiro?
  24. Which type of rhyme is seen in a four-line group with the pattern ABBA?
  25. In Portuguese grammar, what is a unique feature of the personal infinitive (infinitivo pessoal)?
  26. What is the function of the pronoun 'lhe' in the sentence 'Dei-lhe o livro'?
  27. Which political and cultural agreement of 1990, put into force in Portugal in the following decades, standardised Portuguese spelling across countries?
  28. Read the opening lines of Os Lusíadas: 'As armas e os barões assinalados, / Que da ocidental praia Lusitana, / Por mares nunca de antes navegados / Passaram ainda além da Taprobana'. What is the rhyme…
  29. In the passage 'Pensar é estar doente dos olhos', attributed to Alberto Caeiro, what attitude to knowledge does the speaker take?
  30. In Os Lusíadas, the Velho do Restelo condemns the departure of the fleet. Which attitude does the character represent?
  31. A student argues that Eça de Queirós uses irony in Os Maias to criticise Lisbon society. Which evidence from the novel best supports the claim?
  32. In Pessoa's 'Autopsicografia', the poem refers to three kinds of pain. Which list is correct?
  33. Which text type is a writer using if the aim is to defend a point of view with arguments and to persuade the reader, with a clear thesis, supporting arguments and a conclusion?
  34. Read: 'Mudam-se os tempos, mudam-se as vontades, / Muda-se o ser, muda-se a confiança'. Which device and which theme are most evident?
  35. Which statement correctly compares Ricardo Reis and Álvaro de Campos?
  36. In Portuguese literature, which 16th-century play by Gil Vicente portrays a procession of souls approaching two boats bound for Heaven and Hell?
  37. In Portuguese drama, what proverb inspired Gil Vicente to compose the play Farsa de Inês Pereira in 1523?
  38. In Portuguese epic poetry, how many cantos make up the structural composition of Os Lusíadas by Luís de Camões?
  39. In Portuguese poetry, what poetic meter and stanza form define the formal verse structure of Os Lusíadas?
  40. In Portuguese epic literature, which mythical giant in Canto V of Os Lusíadas personifies the treacherous Cape of Storms?
  41. In Portuguese Renaissance literature, which tragic historical figure is celebrated in Canto III of Os Lusíadas as having been murdered in Coimbra?
  42. In Portuguese epic poetry, which character speaks on the beach of Lisbon in Canto IV of Os Lusíadas to warn against imperial vanity?
  43. In Portuguese Renaissance lyric poetry, what central philosophical contrast characterizes Luís de Camões' sonnet beginning Mudam-se os tempos, mudam-se as vontades?
  44. In Portuguese Renaissance lyric poetry, which celebrated Camonian sonnet explores the contradictory essence of desire through continuous oxymoron and antithesis?
  45. In Portuguese Baroque prose, which famous sermon preached by Padre António Vieira in São Luís do Maranhão uses aquatic creatures as an allegory for human vices?
  46. In Padre António Vieira's Sermão da Sexagésima, what central question of rhetoric does the orator analyze?
  47. In Portuguese Romantic theatre, which historical drama by Almeida Garrett portrays the tragic consequence of the return of a thought-dead knight from the Battle of Alcácer Quibir?
  48. In Almeida Garrett's drama Frei Luís de Sousa, which character represents the loyal old servant bound to the memory of D. João de Portugal?
  49. In Portuguese Romantic narrative, which novel by Almeida Garrett combines travel writing, autobiographical digressions, and philosophical reflection along the Tagus River?
  50. In Portuguese Ultra-Romantic literature, which celebrated 1862 tragic novel by Camilo Castelo Branco depicts the doomed love of Simão Botelho and Teresa de Albuquerque?
  51. In Portuguese Realist fiction, which celebrated novel by Eça de Queirós tells the story of Carlos da Maia and his doomed relationship with Maria Eduarda in 19th-century Lisbon?
  52. In Eça de Queirós' novel Os Maias, which close companion of Carlos da Maia embodies the literary bohemianism and theatrical wit of Lisbon?
  53. In Portuguese Naturalist fiction, which groundbreaking novel published in 1875 by Eça de Queirós attacked religious hypocrisy in the provincial town of Leiria?
  54. In Portuguese Realist fiction, which novel by Eça de Queirós contrasts the artificial technology of Paris with the rural peace of the Douro estate of Tormes?
  55. In late 19th-century Portuguese poetry, which poet authored O Sentimento dum Ocidental, capturing the atmospheric dusk and labor of Lisbon streets?
  56. In 19th-century Portuguese intellectual history, which gathering organized by Antero de Quental and the Generation of 70 in 1871 was shut down by governmental authorities?
  57. In Portuguese modernist literature, which literary magazine published in two issues in 1915 launched the modern vanguard movement in Portugal?
  58. In Portuguese poetry, which heteronym created by Fernando Pessoa wrote O Guardador de Rebanhos, expressing sensationism without metaphysical thought?
  59. In Portuguese modernist poetry, which heteronym of Fernando Pessoa is an avant-garde naval engineer who wrote Ode Triunfal and Tabacaria?
  60. In Portuguese poetry, which heteronym of Fernando Pessoa was a physician whose Horatian odes preach Stoic resignation and Carpe Diem?
  61. In Portuguese literature, which semi-heteronym authored the introspective fragments of Livro do Desassossego (The Book of Disquiet)?
  62. In Portuguese poetry, which was the only full Portuguese-language poetry volume published by Fernando Pessoa during his lifetime, appearing in 1934?
  63. In Fernando Pessoa's poetic work Mensagem, what tripartite division organizes the structural sequence of the poems?
  64. In Portuguese modernist literature, which poet and close friend of Fernando Pessoa committed suicide in Paris in 1916 after writing Dispersão?
  65. In Portuguese Symbolist poetry, which poet living in Macau authored the delicate collection Clepsidra, published in 1920?
  66. In early 20th-century Portuguese poetry, which poet from the Alentejo composed passionate sonnets in Livro de Mágoas and Charneca em Flor?
  67. In 20th-century Portuguese literature, which author won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998?
  68. In José Saramago's novel Memorial do Convento, which royal monument's construction forms the historical framework of the narrative?
  69. In José Saramago's Memorial do Convento, what name is given to the flying machine designed by Padre Bartolomeu de Gusmão?
  70. In José Saramago's novel O Ano da Morte de Ricardo Reis, in which historical year does Ricardo Reis arrive in Lisbon from Brazil?
  71. In 20th-century Portuguese poetry, which celebrated writer from Porto published Exemplar, Dual, and No Tempo Dividido, focusing on classic clarity and the sea?
  72. In 20th-century Portuguese literature, which physician-author from Trás-os-Montes adopted a pseudonym inspired by his native granite region to write Bichos and Diário?
  73. In Portuguese literature, which 1939 novel by Alves Redol is traditionally considered the inaugural work of the Portuguese Neo-Realist movement?
  74. In Portuguese syntax, what syntactic function does the underlined clause perform in: O professor afirmou que todos os alunos passaram no exame?
  75. In Portuguese grammar, which coordinating conjunction indicates alternation or disjunction between two propositions?
  76. In Portuguese grammar, what type of subordinate clause is introduced by the conjunction embora in: Embora chovesse copiosamente, fomos passear no parque?
  77. In Portuguese syntax, what rule of pronominal placement (clisis) explains why the proclitic position is required in: Não me disseram a verdade?
  78. In Portuguese grammar, what pronominal placement is illustrated by the construction dir-se-ia in formal literary register?
  79. In Portuguese syntax, what syntactic function is performed by the noun phrase o relatório in: O diretor entregou o relatório aos administradores?
  80. In Portuguese stylistics, which rhetorical figure is present in the phrase: O fogo arde sem se ver, é ferida que dói e não se sente?
  81. In Portuguese stylistics, which rhetorical figure of speech is demonstrated when Camões writes ocidentais praias lusitanas to designate Portugal?
  82. In Portuguese grammar, what verbal mood is required in the subordinate clause: É necessário que tu estudes com dedicação para obteres sucesso?
  83. In Portuguese syntax, what kind of relative clause is found in: Os alunos, que tinham estudado com afinco, passaram no exame?
  84. In Portuguese morphology, what process of word formation created the noun planalto from the roots plano and alto?
  85. In Portuguese grammar, what grammatical relation is expressed by the preposition para in: Ele comprou os livros para estudar para o exame?
  86. In Portuguese stylistics, which stylistic device involves the inversion of the natural syntactic order of sentence elements?
  87. In Portuguese syntax, what syntactic function does the prepositional phrase ao médico perform in: A enfermeira entregou o relatório clínico ao médico?
  88. In Portuguese grammar, which verb displays a defect of conjugation by being defective unipersonal, conjugated only in the third person?
  89. In Portuguese syntax, what role does the word onde perform in: Esta é a universidade onde Camões terá estudado?
  90. In Portuguese Renaissance drama, which moral flaw characterizes the Nobleman (Fidalgo) condemned to the boat of Hell in Gil Vicente's Auto da Barca do Inferno?

Keep practising

More Exames Nacionais Secundário (Portugal) topics

All Exames Nacionais Secundário (Portugal) practice →

Ready for the full Exames Nacionais Secundário (Portugal) test?

Take a mock testExames Nacionais Secundário (Portugal) hub