Spanish Romance: A Journey Through Epic Poetry
Spanish Romance
Romance, a quintessential Spanish literary form, thrives in both Iberian and Latin American traditions. This composite metric poem shares its name with a narrative subgenre, but they are distinct entities. Originating in oral tradition, Romance gained popularity in the 15th century, first appearing in written collections known as romanceros. These narrative poems explore diverse subjects, reflecting popular tastes and local traditions. They were recited, chanted, or sung, often with interspersed recitation.
The Old Ballads
The Spanish Ballads comprise a collection of short medieval poems, abstracted from Castilian epic poems starting in the 14th century. Preserved orally until the 19th century, they resurfaced with Romanticism’s interest in medieval literature. Agustín Durán began compiling them in his renowned Collection of Ancient Ballads or Romanceros (Valladolid, 1821), later expanding it into the famous General Romancero. In the 20th century, Ramón Menéndez Pidal and his school undertook a comprehensive compilation, classification, and study of these ballads.
Many romances, particularly those from the 15th century, were preserved by contemporary collectors. These collectors acquired chapbooks at fairs, compiling them into songbooks known as romanceros. These are referred to as the Old Ballads.
New Ballads
From the 16th century onwards, authors like Félix Lope de Vega, Luis de Góngora, Francisco de Quevedo, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Ángel de Saavedra, Miguel de Unamuno, Juan Ramón Jiménez, Federico García Lorca, and Gerardo Diego, captivated by the unique characteristics of the old ballads, began imitating them. This gave rise to a new body of poems known as New Ballads. Unlike their predecessors, these have known authors and are disseminated through print. Structured in quatrains of assonant verse, they emulate the genres and style of the Old Ballads while expanding the themes and modifying the forms, sometimes incorporating letrilla and choruses.
Characteristics
A romance typically consists of octosyllabic verses with assonant rhyme in pairs. Older romances may use paragogic -e to complete the rhyme and lack strophic division. Modern romances are grouped in quatrains and generally avoid this device. Old romances, all anonymous, are heavily influenced by themes of religion, war, and love.
Unlike European ballads, Spanish romances favor realism over fantasy and possess a stronger dramatic character. Their style is marked by the repetition of phrases for rhythmic effect (e.g., Green River, Green River), a flexible use of tenses, numerous variations (texts vary and influence each other, becoming “modernized” or ending differently due to oral transmission), and frequent abrupt endings that shroud the poem in mystery.
Their structure varies; some narrate a complete story, while others present only the most dramatic scene of a larger narrative spanning multiple romances. Examples include cycles devoted to the Cid and Bernardo del Carpio.
Themes range from historical and legendary to romantic and lyrical. Some, known as news romances, publicized the exploits of the Reconquista of Granada. The enduring vitality of Spanish Ballads is evident not only in their survival in oral folk tradition but also in their influence on numerous plays of the Spanish Golden Age and, subsequently, European theater (e.g., Guillén de Castro’s Las Mocedades del Cid inspired Pierre Corneille’s Le Cid). The very existence of the New Ballads testifies to this enduring legacy.
Thematic Classifications
Common classifications include:
- Historical Romances: Focus on historical and legendary topics related to national history, such as the Cid and Bernardo del Carpio.
- Carolingian Romances: Based on French chansons de geste, featuring themes like the Battle of Roncesvalles and Charlemagne.
- Border Ballads: Narrate events on the frontier with the Moors during the Reconquista.
- Romantic Romances: Explore a wide range of topics, often drawing inspiration from Spanish and Asian folklore.
- Lyrical Ballads: Products of free imagination and personal taste. Menéndez Pidal highlights their subjective and emotional qualities, which replace the dramatic detail of the original epic poems. Narrative elements are minimized, emphasizing immediate action. Anonymous poets express feelings of love or promote folk themes, mythological characters, and fantastical events.
- Epic Romances: Recount the deeds of historical heroes.
- Vulgar or Blind Romances: Tell sensational stories of heinous crimes, exploits of bandits like Francisco Esteban, miracles, wonders, and other extraordinary events.