Romanticism in Spain: Characteristics, Authors, and Works
Romanticism: A Shift from Neoclassical Rationalism
Romanticism emerged as a counter-movement to the rationalist ideas of Neoclassicism. It shifted away from reason, exalting sentiments and emotions. Key characteristics include:
- Irrationalism: Emphasis on mysterious and fantastic elements that reason cannot explain.
- Intimacy and Subjectivism: Focus on personal feelings, often including nostalgia and melancholy.
- Individualism: Emphasis on the individual’s self in relation to their surroundings.
- Disillusionment: A feeling of shock and disappointment with reality, leading to rebellion against societal norms.
- Evasion: A tendency to escape into the past or exotic locales due to disillusionment.
- Loneliness: A form of escape, not to physical places, but into oneself or the past.
- Nature and Identification with the Protagonist’s Mood: Dark, nocturnal scenes reflecting the protagonist’s emotional state, often in gloomy, nocturnal landscapes.
- Freedom: A demand for freedom in all aspects of life, both social (rejecting norms, often leading to marginalized characters) and artistic.
Romanticism in Spain
Romanticism developed late in Spain, occurring in two stages: an initial, more exuberant phase, followed by a later, more intimate phase called Post-Romanticism.
Romantic Poetry
Poetry was the preferred genre of Romantic writers, perfectly reflecting the author’s feelings and emotions. Both narrative verse and narrative poetry were common.
Major themes include:
- The poet’s ego.
- Love, ranging from passionate to frustrated by social constraints.
- Death as a form of liberation.
- Nature intertwined with the poet’s inner self.
The language used carries a strong emotional charge, with prevalent use of melancholic and intense adjectives. Poets express their inner thoughts through interjections, exclamations, and rhetorical questions. They reject rigid metrical structures, favoring freedom of expression and often employing polimetry, or free forms like *silva*, *romance*, or *octava real*.
José de Espronceda
He was the quintessential, passionate, and liberal Romantic figure. His poetry was primarily written upon his return to Spain. His work is divided into two main categories:
- Lyric Poems: These often feature marginalized individuals who defy societal norms in pursuit of freedom. Examples: “The Pirate’s Song,” “The Prisoner of Death,” “The Executioner,” “The Beggar.”
- Narrative Poems: These tell stories with descriptive and lyrical passages. Examples: “The Student of Salamanca,” “The Devil World.”
His style is characteristically Romantic, favoring sharp rhymes, sudden shifts in tone, and extensive use of rhetorical questions and exclamations.
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
Bécquer is the key representative of Post-Romanticism, known for his intimate and evocative style. He wrote both poetry and prose, showcased in his book *Rhymes and Legends*. His book *Rhymes* was published posthumously by his friends in 1871. The main themes of his poetry are love and poetry itself:
- Love: Identified with women and beauty.
- Poetry: Identified with the expression of intimate feelings.
Bécquer frequently employs metaphors and similes, often constructed with words referring to tangible materials and abundant terms related to nature. The meter is generally varied, although assonance rhyme is prevalent.
As a prose writer, he wrote the *Legends*, which share the following characteristics:
- Setting: Ancient cities, ruins, and generally dismal, gloomy landscapes.
- Characters: Young, beautiful, and often perverse female lovers.
- Fantastic Elements: Events that disrupt the logical order of the narrative.
- Outcomes: Tragic, often ending with the death of the protagonists.
- Themes: The struggle between reality and the ideal.
Romantic Prose
Often consisting of *costumbrista* articles (depictions of everyday life and customs), these were published in newspapers during the first half of the 19th century. The most important writers were Larra and Mesonero Romanos.