Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer and Spanish Romantic Drama
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer: A Culmination of Spanish Romanticism
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836-1870) was born in Seville. Orphaned at a young age, he moved to Madrid at 18 seeking literary success, earning a living writing articles for magazines. At 21, he contracted a serious illness. He married Casta Esteban and had two children, but his wife was unfaithful. He died in Madrid at 34, poor and sick.
Bécquer emerged as Europe’s Romantic movement waned, yet he represents the culmination of intimate Spanish Romanticism. He is also considered the first modern poet. His prose works include Letters to a Literary Woman, Letters from my Cell, and especially Legends, a collection of supernatural and fantastical short stories reflecting on the human condition. Notable examples include:
- “El Monte de las Ánimas”
- “La Ajorca de Oro”
- “El Beso”
His poetry, Rhymes, was published posthumously in 1871 by his friends. Bécquer had compiled his poems in a manuscript, but it was burned. The National Library maintains a second collection called Book of Sparrows.
Rhymes emphasizes two key areas: poetry itself and the theme of love, present in all the poems, evoking joy, excitement, or disappointment. The ordering of the poems is debated, differing from Bécquer’s original manuscript. The classification is generally as follows:
- Rhymes I-XI: Poetry as something inexplicable
- Rhymes XII-XXIX: Love experienced positively
- Rhymes XXX-LI: Love’s failure
- Rhymes LII-LXXI: Loneliness and death due to failure
Bécquer emphasized the formal development of his poems, characterized by intimacy, simplicity, brevity, musicality, assonance rhyme, a combination of major and minor art verses, and a rejection of epithets and excessive rhetoric. His style favors nominal and present verb forms, and dialogue is common.
Romantic Theatre: Drama
Theatre is a characteristic expression of Romanticism, linking to the theatre’s golden age. Romantic drama arrived late in Spain; the first example is The Conspiracy of Venice by Martinez de la Rosa, and the last is Traitor, Unacknowledged and Martyr by José Zorrilla.
Themes and Purpose
Love, often impossible love, is the key theme. Other themes include freedom, rebellion, and revenge. The intention of Romantic drama is not to educate but to excite the audience, evoking enjoyment or suffering.
Characters and Settings
The hero is brave and mysterious, seeking unattainable happiness and ultimately facing a miserable end. The heroine accompanies him, sweet, innocent, and deeply in love. The action unfolds in solitary landscapes, dungeons, mountains, and caves.
Formal Aspects
Romantic drama rejects all rules, prioritizing freedom. It breaks the unities of time and place, varies the number of events, and uses factual elements to enhance the tragic climate and evoke different emotions.
The Duke of Rivas
Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, was a playwright and poet. His Don Alvaro, or the Force of Fate (1835) marked the triumph of Romanticism in Spain. The main theme is fate, which relentlessly pursues and destroys the hero, alongside passionate love.
José Zorrilla
His most famous work is Don Juan Tenorio, the best-known Romantic drama, still performed on All Hallows’ Eve, October 31. Premiered in 1844 to great success, it explores the myth of Don Juan.