Romanticism and Enlightenment in 18th and 19th Century Spain

Posted on Dec 17, 2024 in Latin

Romanticism in the 19th Century

Romanticism was an ideological and aesthetic movement that began in Germany in the last third of the 19th century. It extended throughout Europe. The dominant genre was lyric poetry. The first book was a sentimental Romantic novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774), by Goethe.

Main Features:

  1. Against established norms, it defends imagination, feelings, and fantasy.
  2. Against the criterion of “universality,” it defends the differences found in the individual soul and the poet’s interiority.
  3. It challenges obsolete Enlightenment standards and defends the poet’s freedom, not only in criticism but also in morality and aesthetics.
  4. It defends the history of countries based on the folklore and the soul of the people, which will lead to nationalism in Europe.
  5. The themes cultivated by the Romantics are inspired by history, legend, and marginal characters who confront society.
  6. The main genres were theater, lyrical poetry, and the Romantic historical novel.

Romanticism in Spain

Romanticism was a late phenomenon in Spain. Except for a few articles published in early Cádiz and Barcelona, it wasn’t until 1834, with the return of liberal writers persecuted by the despotism of Ferdinand VII, that a true Romantic outbreak occurred in Spain. It emerged in the theater and lasted just 10 years. The first work premiered was The Conspiracy of Venice (1834) by José Zorrilla. Also noteworthy is Don Álvaro, or the Force of Fate by the Duke of Rivas.

Features of Romantic Theater

  1. It does not adhere to the rules of the three unities. There are multiple actions, which take place in various locations, and the action jumps in time, covering a long period.
  2. It does not separate tragedy and comedy.
  3. The key themes revolve around passionate love and the inevitability of fate. There are frequent scenes of mourning, suicide, dark depressions, and cemeteries.
  4. It shies away from current affairs in favor of historical topics.
  5. This drama does not aim to teach but to persuade.

The first Romantic work was The Conspiracy of Venice by Martínez de la Rosa (1834), and the last was Don Juan Tenorio by José Zorrilla (1844).

Romantic Poetry of Spanish Romanticism

José de Espronceda

José de Espronceda was the first Spanish Romantic poet and a great representative of its spirit. He was a maverick in politics and personal life. He died at 37 years old. His most famous work is a book of poems entitled Songs, which revolves around marginal characters, similar to the poet’s own life. He also wrote a long poem that mixes the three literary genres, titled The Student of Salamanca. Finally, we must mention an unfinished work entitled Diablo Mundo, which includes one of his best poems, “Song to Teresa,” dedicated to his unattainable love.

The Second Stage of Spanish Romanticism

At a time when literary realism was triumphing, two major poetic figures appeared in Spain:

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

Bécquer is considered by all later poets as the initiator of modern poetry in Spain. His poetry was brief and was published after his death in 1871. The book consists of 79 short poems with classic Romantic themes: unattainable love, loneliness, and death, treated from the poet’s intimacy with sincere and emotive language. Bécquer was influenced by German Romanticism, particularly by Heinrich Heine. In terms of style, he shifted from external rhyme to internal rhyme based on repetitions, parallelisms, and a two-part structure. He also began to introduce the use of symbols that became common in later poetry.

Rosalía de Castro

Like Bécquer, Rosalía de Castro cultivated a Romantic and intimate style. She was the first to introduce the Galician language into modern poetic language. Dominant themes in her work are the lands of Galicia, melancholy, loneliness, and death. Some of her works are Cantares Gallegos and Follas Novas.

Mariano José de Larra

Mariano José de Larra is a popular figure of Spanish Romanticism. He straddled the last period of the Enlightenment and the Romantic spirit. Born in 1809, he died in 1837 at the age of 28, committing suicide by gunshot.

The 18th Century: General Features

The 18th century is also known as the Enlightenment or the Century of Lights. These two denominations accurately reflect the characteristics of the period.

  1. The Century of Lights: Light is the oldest metaphor for reason. This is the century in which man expresses absolute confidence in himself, believing that by applying rational criteria to social and political organization, he can achieve happiness on Earth. This confidence in reason manifests itself differently in different countries. In France, there is philosophical Romanticism. In England, scientific reason and empiricism are championed by Hume.
  2. The Enlightenment: This term signifies teaching. The Enlightenment was the first historical period in which education became an important goal of governments.
  3. The Idea of Progress: This concept is also new to this century. Previously, the classical past was regarded as the source of wisdom and progress. Now, the focus shifted to the future, with a belief in rational and continuous progress, and the past was seen as something to be overcome.
  4. All the above changes in mentality were made possible by the rise of a new class that confronted the nobility of the old regime and reflected on alternative societal organizations and the justification of political power. Some of the most important figures of the European Enlightenment were Rousseau, Locke, Voltaire, Kant, and Montesquieu.

The Enlightenment in Spain

The Enlightenment was a late phenomenon in Spain, highly influenced by the introduction of the Bourbon dynasty by Philip V. In the 18th century, Spain was a country in decline with significant economic and social backwardness. Hence, the first half of the 18th century was a phase of combating the Baroque aesthetic, superstition, and the backwardness of Spanish society.

The dominant genre in the 18th century for conveying ideas was the essay. Since the mid-century, the emergence of newspapers contributed to this dissemination.

The essay of the first half of the century is represented by Father Feijoo. His critical essays not only introduced new ideas but also sought to use reason to change cultural errors and popular beliefs. His most important work is Teatro Crítico Universal.

In the second half of the century, notable authors include Cadalso and Jovellanos.

Written in the 18th century, specifically in 1801, El sí de las niñas was not published until 1806. It enriches society and calls for more power, as there were tax problems among social classes. Thinkers devised new ways of organizing society. Some of the factors that influenced 18th-century theater were its return to the classical style of Aristotle, with a focus on rational criteria. These criteria were applied to the three unities: time, place, and action. Other features of 18th-century theater include its educational purpose. Theater was meant to have a didactic purpose and address relevant topics. Education was the cornerstone of reason. The 18th century was dubbed “The Century of Lights.”

El sí de las niñas consists of three acts. Some of the characters that appear are Don Diego, Doña Irene, Don Carlos, Rita, Simón, and Calamocha. In terms of contextualization, it meets the three rules of unity:

  • The action takes place in one location: the inn of Alcalá de Henares. Although the plot unfolds in a single room, it also shows different places and events involving the characters.
  • The action is linear and follows a pattern. It begins at 7 PM and ends at 5 AM the next morning, with jumps to the past to explain certain events, such as when Don Carlos explains where, how, and when he met Doña Francisca.

El sí de las niñas, first performed in 1806, is Moratín’s most characteristic work.