"Com a pena da galhofa" presents an analysis of the Brazilian Literature classic "Memórias póstumas de Brás Cubas", by Machado de Assis (1839-1908). The comic elements and the biting irony of a dead man turned author are studied in order to understand how they participate in the construction of the plot that revolutionised - at the same time as it inaugurated - Brazilian Realism. Thus, this study aims to contribute to the understanding of the delight through humour and criticism that the reader finds in the narrative.