Romanticism and the Renaissance in Catalan Culture
Romanticism
Romanticism began in the mid-eighteenth century and lasted nearly a century. This aesthetic movement influenced not only art but also the sensitivity and attitudes of European artists. It was a new way of seeing the world, which gave preference to passion over reason and marked an attitude of rebellion.
Features
- Romanticism is a revolt: On one side were the defenders of classicism, who valued reason above all else. On the other side appeared advocates of creative freedom and the importance of the irrational world of human passions.
- Romanticism is a state of mind: Dissatisfaction is the fundamental romantic feeling, which leads to two contrasting vital attitudes: enthusiasm if the individual throws themselves with passion towards the search for an ideal, or disappointment, leading to melancholy. Both Romantics developed a real cult of the self.
- Romanticism is a literary program: As the romantics aimed to move the reader, they often resorted to innovations and exclamations. Also, before poetry and theater were subjected to strict rules, the romantics rejected standards such as the three unities and defended the liberation of verse.
Renaixença
The Renaixença was a movement of overall recovery of Catalan culture and personality during the nineteenth century, especially the process of dignifying the language and literature. It began in 1833 with Aribau’s publication of “The Fatherland” in the “Daily Steam” and ended in 1877 with Verdaguer’s “L’Atlàntida” and the works of Àngel Guimerà.
Important Writers of the Renaixença
Joaquim Rubio i Ors
Although he came from conservative romanticism, he was influenced by Aribau and was one of the restorers and maintainers of the Floral Games of Barcelona.
Manuel Milà i Fontanals
He had a decisive influence on the Renaixença through his studies on medieval Catalan literature and his work on popular literature.
Marià Aguiló
He made a collection of songs and folk traditions. He had a clear idea of the orientation that the efforts of the restoration of the literary language should take.
Popular Literature
- Oral manifestations are caused by people’s need to express their experiences, beliefs, fears, desires, etc.
- An anonymous individual writes it, collecting a tradition, but the work created by this author continues to be transmitted orally.
- Most genres of popular literature are in verse and usually sung, so they are easier to remember.
Genres
Legends
Legends are the first manifestations of popular culture and explain the origins of peoples and their traditions.
Songs
Songs are short pieces of music and thanks to this, they are easy to remember. In addition, there are songs that are sung each day or at a particular party.
Theater
Theater has religious origins, but it evolved into secular forms with the purpose of entertaining audiences who attended the performances.
Fables
Fables are not written in the popular genre par excellence and are difficult to remember.
Proverbs
Proverbs expose the wisdom that gives the experience of years.
Riddles
Riddles aim to entertain while using ingenuity.
Religious Compositions
Joys
Joys praise the excellence of our Lord, the Holy Virgin, or a saint, under a specific invocation.
Christmas Songs
Christmas songs are related to the Christmas cycle. They are the most popular religious songs, and even today, many people know the most typical ones.
Secular Songs
Romances
These are poetic compositions with an undetermined number of verses, usually seven syllables, with assonant rhyme in even verses and odd verses being free. They can be of Castilian influence or from beyond the Pyrenees.
Corrandes
Corrandes use an extensive variety of songs of four short heptasyllabic verses. They have a great diversity of themes.
Follies
These are compositions that comprise the “glosadors” to improvise on any subject. The “glosats” usually present the structure of a debate between two or more “glosadors”, in which ingenuity predominates.
Tambourine Songs
Tambourine songs praise a person holding an important event, which was accompanied by the percussion of a tambourine.
Nursery Rhymes
These consist of lullabies for children and usually present onomatopoeic sounds to accentuate their monotonous rhythm when sung.