ACTANTIAL VERTIGO IN A SONG BY GOTA D’ÁGUA

Abstract

Based on French semiotic theory, from Greimas to Zilberberg, this article analyzes the song “Bem-querer”by Chico Buarque, which was composed for the play Gota d’Água, a collaboration between Buarque and Paulo Pontes. The lyrics are examined primarily from a discursive perspective, with an emphasis on the category of person. The article aims to demonstrate that the actantial vertigo present in the lyrics – marked by continuous conjunctive and disjunctive movements – also manifests in the melody. Finally, since the song is part of a broader work, “Bem-querer” is metonymically situated within Gota d’Água, relating the drama to its sources: Euripides’ Medea and Oduvaldo Vianna Filho’s adaptation.