String Literature is a popular form of poetry produced mainly in the northeastern section of Brazil. Heir to the orality of the Portuguese ballads, cordel took root particularly in the northeastern country side of Brazil and for historical and social factors spread throughout the country. This study intends to revisit the main studies done on string literature to analyze its development in Brazil, to highlight cordel's enormous contribution as popular art, memory and identity, in the construction process of the Brazilian Northeastern people.