Narrativity and tensivity in "Mano a Mano", by Chico Buarque

Abstract

This paper focuses on the compatibilities and incompatibilities between Algirdas Julien Greimas’ narrative semiotics and Claude Zilberberg’s tensive semiotics through the analysis of Chico Buarque’s song “Mano a Mano”. Initially, it is examined the selected text, which is studied first in the level of the lyrics and then in the level of the melody. After that, from the suggestions indicated by the analysis of the song, some of the points of convergence and divergence between Greimas and Zilberberg’s proposals are discussed, in order, ultimately, to hypothesize the integration of the two trends into a general methodology of description of the processes of production and apprehension of meaning.