Romanticism and Enlightenment in Literature: Key Aspects
Romanticism and Enlightenment in Literature
Romanticism is a cultural movement in literature and art that developed in the first half of the 19th century. Nationalisms arose, and the bourgeoisie became the ruling social class following the Industrial Revolution. This era also saw the rise of liberalism, an ideological movement advocating economic and political freedom. Romanticism marked the end of 18th-century rationalism.
Key Features of Romanticism
Its general features are:
- Individualism and Subjectivism:
Literary Movements: Romanticism to Victorian Era
Romanticism: An Overview
Romanticism developed between the 1760s and 1780s as an anti-Enlightenment movement. Jane Austen marks one of the first points of solidification of the realist tradition. It mainly affected drama and poetry. Protagonists were driven to action, pursuing noble ideals. Authors started praising the sublime aspects of nature, showing interest in the representation of nature. Before, nature was seen as a tool, but now intellectuals saw nature as something to be praised. Nature
Read MoreCervantes’ Don Quixote: Themes, Characters, and Meaning
Don Quixote: Cervantes’ Masterpiece
Don Quixote is Cervantes’ masterpiece. The first part was published in 1605, and the second, ten years later. The two parts are quite different: the first is more spontaneous, seems written on the fly, and contains diverse elements. The second is much more designed and responds to a well-laid plan.
Both show some structural parallels: after a few initial chapters, a series of adventures happen continuously amidst the protagonist’s wanderings. There are continuous
Read MoreRomanticism in Spain: Literature, Theater, Key Authors
Romanticism in Spain
Romanticism is a social and artistic movement that covers the first half of the nineteenth century and whose principal objective is to exercise the right to freedom. In Spain, it developed later than in the rest of Europe.
The artists of this time disregarded classical rules. Passion replaces reason, and artistic works become very subjective. Romantic works are characterized by a mix of genres, the combination of verse and prose, and the use of different metric structures in the
Read MoreHumanistic Texts: Characteristics, Features, and Structures
Humanistic Texts: Characteristics, Linguistic Features, and Text Structures
Humanistic texts encompass writings within the humanities and social sciences, focusing on cultural productions, relationships, and interpretations of reality. These texts often fall within the didactic essay genre, characterized by:
- Non-fiction content
- Language used for communicating thought
- A prevailing didactic intention
Communicative Characteristics
- Informative communicative intention
- Targeting a trained or expert audience,
Antonio Machado’s Solitudes and Bécquer’s Legends
Solitudes, Galleries and Other Poems (1903-1907)
Solitudes, Galleries and Other Poems is the first book of poems by Antonio Machado. Although it is sometimes associated with modernist aesthetics, *Solitudes* is a book “inside”, stripped of superfluous ornamentation and away from the sound, exoticism, and other procedures of the school of Rubén Darío.
Machado’s Poetic Focus
The temporal focus of Machado’s poetry appears fully developed in this book. We see it in poems like “The Embers of a Golden
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