Spanish Romanticism: History, Characteristics, and Authors
The Romance: Historical and Cultural Context
Features, Authors, and Most Significant Works
The romance emerged in the first half of the nineteenth century as the consequences of the French Revolution reverberated across Europe. Liberals and members of the labor movement clashed with supporters of the ancien régime who resisted the restructuring of social hierarchies.
Romanticism, as a cultural movement, challenged Enlightenment principles. It arose from a profound social and ideological crisis in a rapidly changing world where materialism and industrialization were booming. This upheaval created a conflict in human identity, giving rise to two opposing attitudes:
- Romantic conservatives who rejected the new society and yearned for a lost past.
- Liberal romantics who championed progress and envisioned an idealized future.
The origins of romanticism can be traced back to eighteenth-century German philosophy, which emphasized the expression of feelings. The characteristic features of romanticism include:
Key Features of Romanticism
- Irrationalism: A rejection of reason as the sole means of understanding reality.
- Subjectivism: An emphasis on emotions, dreams, and the unconscious.
- Idealism: A yearning for the absolute and the ideal, stemming from a sense of incompleteness.
- Individualism: An acute and often painful awareness of being different from others.
- The Creative Genius: A celebration of spontaneity and originality.
- Radical Insecurity: Romantics were often characterized by insecurity and dissatisfaction.
- Disappointment: A rebellion against prevailing moral and social standards and a dissatisfaction with reality.
- Loneliness: A tendency towards introspection and self-reliance.
- Dynamic Nature: Nature was often identified with the poetic and the sublime.
- New Sensitivity: A focus on inner life, a heightened sense of the ephemeral nature of existence, and a preoccupation with unhappiness, leading to a characteristic romantic angst.
Romanticism in Spain
The Romantic movement was a late and unique development in Spain due to the historical and political circumstances that prevailed during the first third of the nineteenth century (the War of Independence and the absolutist reign of Ferdinand VII). With the end of Ferdinand VII’s reign, exiles returned to Spain, openly embracing romanticism. The 1830s and 1840s marked the peak of this literary movement, but due to its late arrival, Spanish romanticism differed from its European counterparts.
Poetry
In terms of poetry, two prominent forms emerged:
- Narrative poetry: Narrative poems that blended description, dialogue, and lyricism within the narrative (e.g., El Diablo Mundo by Espronceda).
- Lyric poetry: Poems that expressed personal feelings, melancholy, weariness of life, love, and the idealized woman (Espronceda and Zorrilla were key figures).
José Zorrilla excelled in narrative, dramatic, and lyrical forms. His poetry was characterized by its lyrical quality, metrical variety, and thematic range. He effortlessly shifted between different styles and possessed a keen sense of rhythm and musicality.
José de Espronceda is considered the most representative figure of Spanish romanticism. His poetry can be divided into several stages:
- Neoclassical Poetry
- Poetry of Exile
- Romantic Poetry: Characterized by liberal romanticism and social themes. He wrote both lyric poems (e.g., El Verdugo, El Mendigo) and narrative poems (e.g., El Diablo Mundo, El Estudiante de Salamanca).
Espronceda’s style was quintessentially romantic. He favored extreme emotions, focusing on the emotional impact of his verses. He employed melodramatic devices, mysterious settings, and emotionally charged situations.
Bécquer and Rosalía de Castro were two romantic poets (often considered post-romantic) who went against the prevailing trends of their time and anticipated elements of realism in their poetry.
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer wrote journalistic pieces, two epistolary collections, and the renowned Leyendas (Legends). The Leyendas are a collection of short stories with fantastical elements and a romantic atmosphere (e.g., La Corza Blanca, El Beso).
Bécquer’s prose is notable for its rhythmic and musical qualities, as well as its vivid imagery. In 1871, a year after his death, his Rimas (Rhymes) were published. These poems explore themes of love and poetry, conceived as a direct expression of inner emotions and feelings.
His poems are characterized by their apparent simplicity, conciseness, and lack of grandiosity. They approach symbolism by alluding to ideas and feelings through words that represent both internal and external realities. Bécquer combined learned poetic devices with elements of popular poetry. His language, like his themes, is deceptively simple.
Prose
In prose, the dominant genre was the historical novel, exemplified by works like El Doncel de Don Enrique el Doliente by Larra and Sancho Saldaña by Espronceda. These were relatively rudimentary novels where the narrator was often involved in the story and romantic subplots were common.
The costumbrista article (a regular feature in the press) focused on specific individuals or forms of collective behavior. It had two main variants:
- The type, which was a portrait of an individual who represented a particular social group or characteristic.
- The scene, which involved several characters and described a specific custom or practice.
Prominent costumbrista writers included Serafín Estébanez Calderón, Ramón de Mesonero Romanos, and Mariano José de Larra.
Mariano José de Larra wrote news articles, plays, and a novel. His style was functional and direct, aiming to persuade the reader. He employed irony and sarcasm as key tools for exposing social hypocrisy and criticizing the status quo.
Drama
On the stage, the main theme was love, often blending tragedy and comedy to highlight the contrast between ideals and reality.
José Zorrilla was the most successful romantic playwright, with most of his works being historical dramas. His most famous plays include El Zapatero y el Rey and Don Juan Tenorio. The latter offers a unique interpretation of the Don Juan legend, transforming the libertine character into a figure who is ultimately redeemed through the love of a virtuous woman.