Spanish Romantic & Realist Literature: Overview & Analysis
Spanish Romantic & Realist Literature
Lyric Poetry
Romantic lyric poetry exhibited heightened subjectivism, with poets pouring their emotions into nature and landscapes to reflect their souls. Love and religious themes were common. Poems often lacked separate meters and stanzas, and frequent rhythmic changes demonstrated freedom through varied metrics. José de Espronceda, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, and Rosalía de Castro were prominent figures, creating more sensitive and intimate works compared to previous eras.
Narrative Poetry
Romantic narrative poetry was characterized by its verse form. It drew inspiration from previous literature and traditional romance as a strophic form. The style was vibrant, colorful, and employed numerous poetic images. Key figures included Espronceda, the Duke of Rivas, and José Zorrilla.
Romantic Prose
Romantic prose, particularly in the early 19th century, focused on manners and customs. Authors like Ramón de Mesonero Romanos and Serafín Estébanez Calderón offered a close look at society, employing a critical yet mildly moralizing tone. Romanos’ main work, “Escenas Matritenses,” recreated Madrid’s types and environments in an easy, entertaining, and colloquial style. Estébanez Calderón’s “Escenas Andaluzas” presented a colorful and sympathetic vision with local flavor.
Romantic Writers
José de Espronceda
Espronceda’s diverse works spanned novels, drama, and epic poetry, including short poems like “Song of the Pirate” and longer narrative poems. His uneven yet imaginative work showcased mastery of rhythm and musicality.
Brief Poems
Espronceda’s early neoclassical poems, influenced by Ossian, revealed his romantic rebellion against conformist society. His characters embodied freedom from rigid social norms.
Adult Poetry
“El estudiante de Salamanca” is a brilliant narrative poem with four parts, featuring a Don Juan-esque character, Félix de Montemar, who mocks love and ultimately kills his lover’s brother. The poem showcases Espronceda’s mastery of diverse metrics and romantic themes.
El diablo mundo
Influenced by Goethe, this unfinished poem explores existential themes of sin and the human condition. Its six songs express pessimism and disappointment.
Mariano José de Larra
Larra excelled in costumbrista articles and political literature. His “Artículos de costumbres” critically depicted Spanish society, highlighting issues like inefficient public officials, poor education, and early marriages. He employed irony and sarcasm to convey his message directly.
Art and Literary Criticism
Larra’s progressive and liberal ideology informed his writings. He expressed both hope and disillusionment with Spain’s political situation and inefficient governments. He also wrote extensively about theater, critiquing neoclassicism and embracing romanticism.
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
A late Romantic figure, Bécquer’s work hinted at the emerging realism in literature.
Poetic Works
Bécquer’s “Rimas” are short, intimate poems employing assonance and a simple, evocative style. They explore themes of love, joy, heartbreak, and disillusionment.
Prose Works
“Leyendas” are short stories with romantic, exotic, and legendary elements, transporting readers to a world of love, death, terror, and lyricism.
Rosalía de Castro
Rosalía de Castro is a pivotal figure in Spanish literature.
Cantares gallegos
These poems adopt the style and spirit of Galicia, revitalizing the Galician language. They offer a nostalgic vision of rural life, reflecting the poverty of peasants and the plight of emigrants.
Follas novas
More subjective and intimate, these poems express Castro’s personal pain and suffering. They feature a variety of metrics.
En las orillas del Sar
These poems convey a melancholic spirit, expressing anguish, bitterness, and a longing for death. Castro’s simple language avoids ornamentation and favors assonance, experimenting with new rhythms and stanza structures.
Realism in the 20th Century
Realist Poetry
Realist poetry reflected the bourgeois mentality of the time, often lacking genuine lyrical inspiration. Ramón de Campoamor achieved popularity with his simple, idea-driven verses. Gaspar Núñez de Arce’s poetry addressed civic and moral concerns with a sentimental tone.
Realist Theater
Known as “high comedy,” realist theater moved away from romantic drama, embracing contemporary issues and a sober, moralizing tone. Plays were well-constructed, featuring realistic dialogue and prose-like language.
Realist Novel
The realist novel flourished in the mid-19th century, influenced by French narrative trends. It focused on immediate reality, employing objectivity and detailed descriptions. Novels explored diverse environments and social conflicts with a sober and linguistically varied style.
Naturalism
Naturalism, an extreme form of realism, originated in France. It emphasized a materialistic vision of humanity, employing deterministic concepts and incorporating sociological and scientific theories to explain characters’ behavior. While naturalism influenced Spanish literature, it did not fully embrace its materialistic and deterministic dogmas.
Naturalist Writers
Benito Pérez Galdós
Galdós was a prolific 19th-century novelist, bridging realism and naturalism. His works include the “Episodios Nacionales” historical series and novels like “Doña Perfecta” and “Marianela,” as well as plays like “Electra.”
Episodios Nacionales
This series of 46 episodes provides a fictionalized historical panorama of Spain from the War of Independence to the era of Cánovas del Castillo.
Early Works
Galdós’ early novels often explored social and intellectual themes. “Doña Perfecta” tackles religious intolerance in a provincial city, while “Marianela” portrays an idealistic character highlighting goodness and beauty.
Contemporary Spanish Novels
Galdós wrote over 20 novels, incorporating naturalist elements and new narrative directions. “La desheredada” follows a woman who believes herself to be the heiress of a noble title. In “Fortunata y Jacinta,” his most complex and accomplished work, Galdós presents a panoramic view of Madrid society, exploring class morality and social conflicts.