The Rhetorical Effect and the Reader in Homens Imprudentemente Poéticos [Men Imprudently Poetic], a Novel by Valter Hugo Mãe

Abstract

This article examines the deployment of rhetoric as a foundational element in meaning-making in Valter Hugo Mãe’s Homens imprudentemente poéticos [Men Imprudently Poetic] and highlights how the text engages with different categories of readers. Drawing on Aristotle’s principles of verisimilitude and concision, it explores the mechanisms through which meaning unfolds over the course of the novel and identifies the textual nuances intentionally crafted for the reception and interpretation of its ideas. The study also underscores the work’s magical realism—blending quotidian detail with Japanese mythology—and shows how this operates as a rhetorical device that evokes affect through metaphors addressing universal themes. Finally, the research demonstrates that, by subverting linguistic conventions and merging the real with the marvelous, the novel reaffirms its literary efficacy and opens new avenues for research in rhetoric, interculturality, and reception studies.