La claridad de Antonio Candido

This article is about clarity in the work of the Brazilian critic Antonio Candido (1918-2017). In his critical perspective, one can see the centrality of comparison, as much as the critic's ability to see the literary phenomenon through the lenses of politics. The result is a clear and precise analysis, in which literature is seen as a civilizational tool confronting anomy. In order to understand the role played by literature in face of the impasses of civilization, I study his essay on Nietzsche, published in 1946, and his lifelong dialogue with Sérgio Buarque de Holanda.