Spanish Romanticism: A Deep Dive into 19th-Century Literature
Spanish Romanticism (19th Century)
A) Socio-Historical Context
The Romantic movement emerged in the first half of the 19th century, replacing the Enlightenment’s emphasis on reason with feeling, imagination, and passion. Originating in late 18th-century Germany and England (Pre-Romanticism), it spread to France, Italy, and Spain during the 19th century. Goethe’s The Adventures of Young Werther (1774) played a key role in disseminating Pre-Romantic ideals. In Spain, Romanticism coincided with the death of Fernando VII and the reign of Isabel II (1833-1868), allowing the return of exiled liberals. It peaked around 1835 with the premiere of Don Álvaro, or the Force of Fate by the Duke of Rivas.
B) The Romantic Spirit
- Subjectivism and Exaltation of Self: Artists expressed their feelings openly and presented a subjective worldview. Romantic literature embraced fantasy and mystery. This subjectivism manifested in a preference for wild, mysterious natural settings like forests, seas, and ruins, as well as cemeteries and castles in urban landscapes. Spring and autumn, symbolizing melancholy, were also common settings.
- Freedom: Romantics demanded absolute freedom in all spheres: political (exalting national language), moral (acting without rules), religious (choosing one’s faith), affective, and artistic (mixing genres and styles).
- Existential Pain: The clash between Romantic idealism and mundane reality led to criticism of society, anxiety, or escapism into the idealized past (Middle Ages, legends, exotic lands, childhood, dreams, and fantasy).
- Valuation of Genius/Talent: The artist was seen as almost divine, with sensitivity, imagination, and passion replacing reason.
Romantic Literature in Spain
A) Romantic Prose
Interest in the past led to the flourishing of the historical novel, inspired by Walter Scott. In Spain, this manifested in narrative poetry. Costumbrismo, portraying local customs with a critical eye, also gained prominence, with authors like Mesonero Romanos, Estébanez Calderón, and Larra (especially his Customs Articles).
B) Romantic Poetry (1808-1842)
José de Espronceda wrote poems featuring rebel or marginalized characters (e.g., The Beggar, The Executioner, The Cossack, The Pirate’s Song). His most ambitious works are The Student of Salamanca (a narrative poem about Don Félix de Montemar and his lost love, Elvira) and the unfinished The Devil World (an epic of human life featuring Adam confronting the world’s injustices). Canto a Teresa, an elegy within The Devil World, is a highlight.
Bécquer (1836-1870): Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer wrote prose (Legends, with themes of mystery, supernatural, and impossible love; and Letters from My Cell, chronicles from his stay at Veruela Monastery) and poetry. His most famous are the Rhymes (86 poems, 79 in the Book of Sparrows), categorized into poems about poetry, happy love, frustrated love, and the pain of living.
Rosalía de Castro (1837-1885): She wrote in Galician (Galician Songs, reflecting Galician popular culture; and Follas Novas, with a melancholic tone) and in Castilian (On the Banks of the Sar, reflecting a life devoid of hope).
C) Romantic Theatre
Theaters adopted the Italian model. The Romantic drama triumphed in 1834 with the premieres of The Conspiracy of Venice by Martínez de la Rosa and Macías by Larra. Other key works include Don Álvaro (1835), The Lovers of Teruel (1837), and Don Juan Tenorio (1844). Don Álvaro, embodying the archetypal Romantic hero with impossible love and a hostile world, is considered a high point of Spanish Romantic drama.