Romanticism and Realism in Spanish Literature
Item 19: Romanticism
Overview
Romanticism, a cultural and artistic movement originating in Germany and England, swiftly spread throughout Europe. It marked the beginning of modernity and laid the foundations for bourgeois liberal state ideology.
Key Features
- Freedom and individualism
- Subjectivity and sentimentality
- Existential angst
- Historicism and nationalism
- Escape from reality and irrationality
Themes and Styles in Romantic Literature
Key themes include freedom, power, justice, destiny, and love.
Evolution of Romanticism in Spain
- Dissemination of German Romantic ideas.
- Influence of French Romanticism and the return of liberal progressive exiles.
- Development of an intimate style with German influence and popular poetry.
The Romantic Drama
Romantic writers rebelled against Neoclassicism, reflecting societal tensions and ideas.
Structure and Discourse
- Division into acts
- Mixing verse and prose
- Breaking the rule of three unities
- Blending comedy and tragedy
Characters
- Protagonists often victims of fate and misfortune.
- Women depicted as passionately loving.
Staging
Playwrights emphasized staging, using detailed descriptions and sound effects for dramatic impact.
Themes
Major themes include happiness, passionate love, revenge, power, and authority.
Key Works:
- Duke of Rivas (Ángel de Saavedra): Don Álvaro, The Moor Foundling
- José Zorrilla: Don Juan Tenorio, The Shoemaker and the King, Traitor, Unacknowledged and Martyr
Romantic Prose
The Historical Novel
Often set in the medieval period, recreating an idealized, heroic world.
Costumbrista Literature (Manners)
These texts, often published as articles or sketches, depicted various aspects of contemporary society.
The Prose of Larra
Articles of Customs
Larra’s articles critically analyzed reality, proposing reforms for a freer and more cultured society.
Political Articles
Reflected his liberal ideology and commentary on political realities.
Literary Criticism
Focused on plays, textual aspects, performances, and public education.
Style
Larra used pseudonyms, dialogue, exaggeration, irony, metaphors, puns, and idioms.
Romantic Poetry
Characterized by a mix of genres, styles, and metrical innovation.
Narrative Poetry
Re-created legends, traditions, and folktales, incorporating fantastical elements and rhetorical emphasis.
Lyric Poetry
- Focused on conflicts between the individual and the world (e.g., José de Espronceda).
- Emphasized a more intimate lyricism with a simpler style.
Key Works by Espronceda: Songs, The Student of Salamanca, The Devil World
The Poetry of Bécquer
Bécquer’s poetry is known for its intimate, short, and seemingly simple style.
Themes
Love, loneliness, anguish, death, dreams, nature, poetry, and creative writing.
Style
Naturalness, essentialism, poetic self, direct address to the reader, exploration of love’s union and disjunction, parallelistic structures.
Item 20: Realism
Overview
Realism, originating in France within bourgeois society, aimed to represent reality faithfully and with verisimilitude.
Naturalism
Naturalism applied the scientific method to literature, describing and analyzing humans as determined by their environment and biological inheritance. Key figures include Balzac, Flaubert, and Zola.
Realistic Novel Features
Realistic writers used observation and documentation. Descriptions served explanatory purposes.
Language
Incorporated geographical, social, and situational variations to reflect the narrative world.
Themes
Conflict between individual and society, nature versus society, interplay of history and private life.
Key Works:
- Pereda: Mountain Scenes, Landscapes and Types, Like Father Like Son, Sotileza
- Valera: Pepita Jiménez, Juanita la Larga
- Galdós: Doña Perfecta, Marianela, Fortunata and Jacinta, Miau, Torquemada en la hoguera
- Emilia Pardo Bazán: The Gallery, Sunstroke, The Country Houses of Ulloa, Mother Nature
- Blasco Ibáñez: The Black Spider, The Barracks, Reeds and Mud, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
- Clarín: La Regenta, Paliques, Su único hijo