Luís de Camões

Luís de Camões was a famous Portuguese poet, best known for his epic poem, “The Lusiads”. He was born in 1524, which is approximately four hundred years before emojis were invented. Poor guy.

Camões lived in a time of great exploration and discovery, which meant he had a lot to write about. He was constantly inspired by the brave Portuguese sailors who set out to discover new lands, and he wrote about their exploits in “The Lusiads”.

Legend has it that Camões was shipwrecked three times in his life. That’s right, three times. Talk about bad luck! But instead of being discouraged, he used his experiences to write even more epic poetry. It’s like when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, except in Camões’ case it was when life gives you shipwrecks, you write a masterpiece.

While Camões is considered one of the greatest poets in Portuguese history, he was not exactly well-known in his lifetime. In fact, he struggled to find a publisher for “The Lusiads”, which is basically the literary equivalent of begging for likes on social media.

But thank goodness for us, someone finally gave Camões a chance, and “The Lusiads” became a huge success. It’s even said that it inspired explorers like Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama. So, basically, Camões was like the J.K. Rowling of his time.

In conclusion, Luís de Camões may have lived a few centuries ago, but he was no ordinary poet. He overcame shipwrecks and publisher rejections to write an epic poem that stood the test of time. He truly was a badass poet with a great beard. (Seriously, look at some of his portraits.)