Abstract
The aim of the paper is to address three texts written by Machado de Assis in 1858 and published in a newspaper called Marmota Fluminense. Based on authors Ruth Amossy, Arthur Schopenhauer, Chaïm Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca, the objective is to understand the social function of polemic, as well as to highlight its compositional procedures, by understanding the ways it functions as a rhetorical device in the texts selected. The intention is to observe the importance of polemic in Machado's writings, as well as its relevance in democratic societies. Jean-Michel Massa's research is used as a reference of Machadian studies.
Keywords:
Machado de Assis; polemic; rhetoric; Brazilian Literature