Oscillating between expressions of appreciation and blunt attacks, António Botto’s texts thematically inspired in the life and work of Fernando Pessoa have many references to the heteronymic project, whose systematisation and analysis allow the enrichment and reinforcement of the debate around a key figure of Portuguese modernism. Continuing Anna Klobucka’s effort to illuminate and rethink the Pessoa-Botto dialogue through words and papers from the latter’s archive, this article aims not only to elucidate Botto’s historical-literary positions on the Caeiro-Campos-Reis-Soares quartet, but also to identify affinities and divergences between Botto’s approaches to heteronymy and the hermeneutic proposals of Adolfo Casais Monteiro, João Gaspar Simões and José Régio — leading names in the first critical reception of Pessoa.
