Spanish Romanticism and Neoclassicism
Romanticism
A cultural and political movement originating in Germany and the United Kingdom in the late 18th century as a revolutionary reaction against the rationalism of the Enlightenment and Classicism, Romanticism emphasized feeling and emotion. Its key feature is the break with classical tradition based on a stereotypical set of rules. The constant search for freedom is its core value, which makes its revolutionary nature unquestionable. Because Romanticism is a way of feeling and conceiving nature, life, and humankind, it manifests differently in each country and region where it develops, influencing all art forms.
Features:
- Individualism
- Rejection of Reality
- Evasion
- Defense of Freedom
- Nature
Espronceda, José:
The prototype of the exalted Romantic liberal, as reflected in his literary works and rebellious attitude toward society. His poetry is a passionate hymn to freedom, with an unmistakably Romantic style: brilliant, musical, and dramatic. Essentially a poet, although he also wrote a historical novel and plays, his style is pompous and emphatic.
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer:
His poetic work opens the doors of contemporary poetry with its intimacy, purity, sensitivity, and authenticity. Inspired by German Romantic lyricism and Andalusian folk songs, he stands out for his lyrical poetry and rhymes. He also wrote quality prose, especially the legends.
Rosalía de Castro:
Establishing an intimate and melancholic Romantic poetry, inspired by the simplicity and musicality of traditional lyricism, she developed a personal style, simple and straightforward.
Mariano José de Larra:
He occupies an important place in literature thanks to his journalistic articles on social customs, politics, and literature. Achieving a personal style, straightforward and unpretentious, he effectively communicated his ideas with conviction. Larra’s newspaper articles are classified as:
- Articles of Customs
- Political Articles
- Literary Articles
Style: Larra employed a style appropriate for newspapers, functional, natural, and direct, very effective in reaching a wide audience.
Romantic Theater:
Dominated by drama, which aims to move the spectator. It blends the tragic and comic, prose and verse, and does not respect the three unities. Themes: Conflicts abound about love and freedom, which the Romantic hero faces against the outside world, often leading to a tragic end.
Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas:
Born in Córdoba, he was a famous playwright and a good poet. His narrative poems are remarkable. The main theme is tragic fate, the fatal destiny that pursues the protagonist. He mixes the tragic and comic, prose and verse, does not respect the three unities, and includes genre scenes. His style has great strength and dynamism, but there are also rhetorical and sentimental excesses.
José Zorrilla:
Born in Valladolid, he is the most famous writer of Spanish Romanticism. His lyrical compositions, as well as his narrative poems written in romances, which deal with historical or traditional folk themes, are of considerable quality. But it is theater that gives him fame.
Neoclassicism
An 18th-century style inspired by Greco-Roman and Renaissance models, Neoclassicism aimed to reflect proper taste. Neoclassical art aspires to be elegant, simple, and reasonable, presenting clear themes and characters. It is didactic and follows the classic rules.
Juan Meléndez Valdés:
His work synthesizes the poetic currents of the moment: the neoclassical, the Anacreontic (sensual and playful), and the pre-Romantic. In his first epoch, he wrote Anacreontic poems, odes, idylls, and pastorals with a soft sensuality, and also epistles and elegies. In his second phase, he evolves into pre-Romanticism and writes legendary romances and poetry full of social, humanistic, and sentimental themes.
Fray Benito Jerónimo Feijoo:
Author of numerous didactic essays of an encyclopedic nature, which make him the most important intellectual of his time. His works disseminated varied knowledge with the goal of modernizing the society of his time.
José Cadalso:
With incredible knowledge of Neoclassicism and pre-Romanticism, he is the author of the most representative narrative work of the Enlightenment.
Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos:
An outstanding representative of the essay, a genre in which he addressed the most varied fields from the perspective of an enlightened intellectual. He aimed to modernize the country. He also wrote satires, epistles in prose, and drama.
Lope de Vega:
An excellent poet, the simplest and most natural of his time, he wrote traditional lyric poetry, sonnets, love poetry, and epic poetry. In his autobiographical works, he displays intense emotion. As a narrator, he experimented with various genres, achieving remarkable quality of dialogue in his novel La Dorotea.