By analyzing a less discussed thesis of Eduardo Lourenço in Pessoa Revisitado regarding the contrast between the ideal function of master Caeiro and his poetic reality, this article focuses on the treatment of this contrast throughout the critical reception. Lourenço’s diagnosis of a misconception by critics is productive in order to point out the differences between the readings, also helping to understand the importance of the contrast, which was already made explicit in Pessoa’s texts regarding the conception of the work and figure of Alberto Caeiro.
