Romanticism in Spain: Literature, Poetry, Theater, and Prose
Romanticism in Spain
Introduction: The 19th century in Europe began with a strong current of thought based on individual freedom, appreciation of nature, and the affirmation of nationalities against all forms of oppression. This was Romanticism. It achieved full victory in Spain and became a fundamental attitude towards life: the affirmation of self, freedom, rebellion, and the mysterious. Reason was replaced by the romantic spirit, with maximum values of freedom and feeling.
Features of Romanticism
- The defense of liberty: No artistic rules, mixing prose and verse, different metrics in the same poem, alternating between the tragic and the comic.
- Escape from the world around them: They did not like the reality they lived in, fleeing to evade worlds distant in time, preferring the Middle Ages or the Baroque.
- Subjectivism: The romantic cult of the self made the author express their feelings of love, anxiety, and dissatisfaction. Nature was turbulent, reflecting the author’s soul, with nocturnal landscapes, cemeteries, and storms.
Poetry
Poetry had great success, as the poet could express their feelings. The “I” was translated into a highly subjective poetry, about love and social issues. It was characterized by its diversity in combining metrics and stanzas, such as silva, real eighth, quartet, and romance. It used a symbolic language capable of reflecting mystery and impossible love.
Stages of Development in Romantic Poetry
- Stage of romantic exaltation (Espronceda):
- La Canción del Pirata: Great innovation, variety, rhythm, and romantic landscape (night, moon, wind, storm). A song of individual freedom.
- In El Mendigo, the theme is the same worldview from a person who renounces integration.
- Most important works:
- El Estudiante de Salamanca
- Montemar Dfelix: Elvira seduces and abandons.
- El Diablo Mundo
Bécquer was a romantic writer, but he wrote during Realism. His very short poetic work, Rimas, is the most interesting. After his death, it was divided thematically into four parts. It features very subjective poetry, simple style, and very formal perfection. He also wrote prose, Legends, and From My Cell, written in the monastery of Veruela.
Rosalía de Castro wrote Cantares Gallegos (homeland) and Follas Novas (pain, pessimism) in Galician, and On the Banks of Sar in Castilian.
Theater
From the 1830s, dramas were a great success. They were the most outstanding expression, with a varied structure divided into several pieces and cuadros. The main theme was impossible love. Relationships and conflict were often marked by tragic adultery. The plots sought to surprise the viewer, and violence dominated the stage. Settings included castles, monasteries, and cemeteries.
Important Representatives of Romantic Theater
- Martínez de la Rosa (Conspiracy of Venice): Defended freedom while respecting social rules. Featured burial scenes and genre paintings.
- Ángel de Saavedra (Duke of Lerma): His work (Don Álvaro or the Force of Destiny) featured tragic destiny and marked the definitive break with neoclassical theater. It did not respect the three unities, blending tragic and comic, prose and verse.
- José Zorrilla (Don Juan Tenorio): In two parts, the subject is the process of a man from a life of vice to salvation by the love of a woman. Based on The Trickster of Seville by Tirso de Molina.
Prose
In the first half of the century, there were no important prose writers. Genres included historical novels and costumbrismo.
- Historical Novel:
- José Espronceda (Sancho Saldaña or the Castilian of Cuellar): Feudal fights.
- Enrique Gil y Carrasco (The Lord of Bembibre): Peaceful landscapes and scenes of peasant customs.
- Costumbrismo: Ingredients included close observation of everyday life and moralizing. They appeared as small, friendly, and entertaining notes.
- Serafín Estébanez Calderón (The Solitary): Andalusian scenes.
- Ramón de Mesonero Romanos (The Curious Speaker): Society of Madrid.
- Larra (collection of dramatic, literary, and customs policy articles): Classified thematically:
- Customs: Written satirical critique of Spanish society, backwardness, and intolerance.
- Political: Liberal and progressive attitude to policy analysis.
- Literary: Review of literature, defending the freedom of the artist.