Romanticism in 19th Century European Literature
The Romance
Romantic Ideology
The late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries saw substantial political and social changes, such as the French Revolution and the independence of American colonies. This was a time of political upheaval, as the struggle for bourgeois revolution and liberalism began to succeed. This era emphasized individualism and freedom (economic, political, religious, news, etc.) against the powers of state or church. It did not accept the existence of absolute truths, valid for everyone, but rather each individual defending their own view of reality. Art and literature no longer primarily served to moralize and educate, but rather to reflect the doubts and conflicts of different individuals. Furthermore, reason was no longer considered sufficient to explain everything; other elements, such as imagination, fantasy, feelings, and dreams, were also critical.
Another feature of this era was the rise of nationalism, based on the defense of the particular characteristics of each people. This led to the development of various national and regional literatures. It recalled the history of each country, and especially the Middle Ages, considered a romantic era, still uncontaminated by rationalism. The historical novel became very important in this period. Another manifestation of this trend was the development of manners in literature and art in general, as a means to reflect the typical lifestyle of each country or region. Similarly, there was great interest in ancient literature and folk art.
Traditionalist and Liberal Romanticism
All romanticists agreed in rejecting standards and limitations imposed by the rationalism of the eighteenth century. However, compared to historic changes underway, there were two very different reactions:
- Romantic traditionalist: Authors of this trend defended the values that were threatened by the new historical situation: Religion, absolute monarchy, the spirit of chivalry (which opposed the materialism that prevailed in contemporary society), national traditions etc. Writers such as Walter Scott, the Vicomte de Chateaubriand or, among the Spanish, José Zorrilla, belonged to this current.
- Romantic liberal: Authors who followed this line questioned the validity of traditional values, affirmed their faith in human rights and peoples, and actively participated in the struggle for their freedoms. This is the case of writers like Lord Byron, Shelley, Victor Hugo, Heine or Pushkin. In Spain, the most important authors in this trend were Larra and Espronceda.
Evolution of Romanticism in Spain
In major European countries, Romanticism developed from a few items (night scenes and dark scenes, rebellious attitudes, etc.) already present in art and literature of the eighteenth century, and more specifically, in “sentimentalism” (which has subsequently been called preromanticism).
This evolutionary process was interrupted by historical events in Spain such as the War of Independence and the reign of Fernando VII. During this reign there was a notable cultural impoverishment due to censorship and the exile of “Francophile” and liberal intellectuals. After the death of Fernando VII in 1833, emigrants returned and brought the new books that had triumphed in Europe for years. Thus began a period in Spain’s dominance of romantic tastes in art and literature. This period did not last long: in 1844, with the success of Don Juan Tenorio by José Zorrilla, there was the last major event fully romantic. Since 1850, approximately, a slow transition to Realism began, which was the dominant literary trend in the last third of the nineteenth century (the middle years of this century were not particularly bright in Spanish literature.) However, for a long time, manifestations of the most superficial and gimmicky romantic taste were still common in Spanish literature.
Bear in mind, however, that the most important Spanish Romantic poets, such as Gustavo Adolfo Becquer and Rosalia de Castro (who wrote both in Castilian and Galician), developed their literary activity precisely in the second half of the nineteenth century, the period of dominance of literary realism.
Romantic Poetry
Lyric poetry was the ultimate romance; indeed, all other genres (novels, short stories, essays, drama) were stained in this era of lyricism. In Spain, the period of fulfillment of romantic poetry was between 1835 and 1850 approximately, when major works were published by, among others, the Duke of Rivas, Juan Arolas, Jose Zorrilla, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, and Nicomedes Pastor Diaz.
The most brilliant poet of this stage was José Espronceda (1808-1842). The author began as neoclassical, but during his exile in England and France between 1827 and 1833, because of his revolutionary activities, came into contact with the literary style dominant in Europe. In the last years of his short life, and in Spain, he created a strong and personal work. In his most interesting poems, he claimed a number of marginal figures, arguing that the writer is a symbol of rebellion against social oppression (Pirate Song, The Song of the Cossack, The beggar, who is guilty of death, etc.). He also has some remarkable compositions expressing the process of romantic disappointment (such as A Jarifa in an orgy or a star).
Along with short poems, Espronceda’s production highlighted two long narrative poems: The student of Salamanca, where the adventures of a legendary character, Don Juan Félix de Montemar, take place in an atmosphere of mystery with plenty of supernatural elements, and The Devil world, in which the unfinished Espronceda attempts to express their views and social philosophy, mixing different genres, metrical forms and themes, including his wry reflections on the work itself. One of the parts of the poem is the famous “Song Teresa,” an elegy in octaves dedicated to Teresa Mancha, the woman with whom Espronceda had had a long and stormy relationship.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, when romantic fashion had fallen, rose to the two major literary figures of Romanticism in Spain: Becquer and Rosalia de Castro. In their poetry, there is a new sensibility, more profound and sincere, and a style away from the rhetoric and excitement of the early Romantics.
Gustavo Adolfo Becquer (1836-1870) is without doubt the best Spanish poet of the nineteenth century and the most influential on later poets. His work, titled Rhyme (or Book of Sparrows), containing his lyrical compositions, appeared posthumously in 1871. When editing, his friends arranged the poems into a kind of poetic and loving biography of the author. Scholars have identified four main sections:
- The dominant theme is poetry and inspiration itself.
- It is about love lived in fullness and the beauty and virtues of the beloved.
- It focuses on the failure of love.
- Feelings of loneliness and anxiety dominate.
Rosalía de Castro (1837-1885) played a decisive role in the literary renaissance of Galician with two of her poetry collections, Cantares gallegos and Follas novas. She also wrote a great book in Castilian, On the banks of Sar, dominated by melancholy and aching sentimentality, expressed with a simple lexicon and a remarkable richness of meter.