Luís Vaz de Camões 

Luís Vaz de Camões (c. 1524 or 1525 – 10 June 1580) is regarded as the greatest poet of Portugal and the Portuguese language. His command of the English language has been compared to that of Shakespeare, Milton, Vondel, Homer, Virgil, and Dante. He composed a lot of lyrical poetry and drama, but his epic work Os Lusíadas is what everyone remembers (The Lusiads). His poetry collection, The Parnasum of Luís de Camões, was lost during his lifetime. The impact of his masterpiece Os Lusíadas has been so great that Portuguese is frequently referred to as the "language of Camões."

According to Monteiro, Camões is the least known of the great western epic poets outside his homeland, and his masterwork, Os Lusíadas, is the least known of the major poems in the style. However, Camões was acclaimed by some non-Lusophone giants of Western culture during his lifetime and for centuries after. Torquato Tasso devoted a sonnet to him, claiming that Camões was the only opponent he feared. Baltasar Gracián appreciated his sharpness and ingenuity, as did Lope de Vega. Cervantes referred to Camões as the "singer of Western civilization." He had an impact on the work of John Milton and other English poets. Goethe acknowledged his eminence, Sir Richard Burton regarded him as a master, and Friedrich Schlegel referred to him as the ultimate exponent of creation in epic poetry, opining that the "perfection" of Portuguese poetry was evident in his "beautiful poems." Humboldt regarded him as an admirable naturalist painter. Camões, according to August-Wilhelm Schlegel, is worth the entire literary works.