ROMANTICISM

Romanticism is a literary movement which reached its peak in Europe during the first decades of
the 19th century. It is characterized by its reliance on the imagination and subjectivity, its freedom of
thought and expression, and its idealization of nature.

The idea of freedom pervades everything. For that reason the writers claim:

1. Freedom of topics. There is a wide range of topics that highlight above all the exaltation of
feelings (love, death, anguish, malancholy...).

2. Flexibility of literary forms. Writers do not stick to traditional literary forms, but mix
different genres such as prose and verse or several stanzas and verses.

3. Idelogical freedom. For example some works show certain political conservatism whereas
others support the revolutions of the time.

° This freedom may go to the extreme of suicide, which is a fairly frequent phenomenom at
that time.

This movement was born at the end of the 18th century in England and Germany, and then spread
across Europe. The main romantic European authors were: Goethe and Schiller in Germany, Keats
and Lord Byron in England.

LITERARY GENRES IN ROMANTICISM

POETRY
It is the most typically romantic form of expression, because it is the most appropriate vehicle to
express the whole world of feelings, sensations and experiences that the romantic author carries
inside.

DRAMA
It implies a total rupture with the forms of neoclassical drama:

• The rule of the three units (place, action and time) fell into disuse.
• The plays consist of five or more acts, instead of the three classical acts.
As for thecontent, it seeks to move the spectator and also impress him through great theatrical
effects. and

PROSE
It is imbued with imagination, often evokes past and better days and exotic lands, it tends to look
back. That's the reason why the Middle Ages are used as common settingfor its stories, for the
authorsthat period is fraught with mysteries and fabulous creatures.

ROMANTIC POETRY IN SPAIN: PART 1

It extends from1820 to 1860. Great feelings are exalted, there are violent contrast of moods, songs
to marginal beings, and political and social concerns among other topics.

JOSÉ DE ESPRONCEDA

His political activites led him to prison and exile in Englandand France since he defended ideals of
justice and freedom. In his Songs he expresses his rebellion against a world that seems full of
hypocritical and selfish morality.
Regarding his literary ideals, he mixes different verses there are also a contrast of situations or
feelings. His work shows a taste for past times and gloomy places.

DUQUE DE RIVAS

Like Espronceda, he had contact with Romanticism in exile because of his liberal ideas. There he
wrote To the lighthouse of Malta. Once he came back to Spain he composed a poem entitled El
moro expósito which was a sort of landmark for Romanticism in Spain. In general his style is
sober, simple and with great expresiveness.

JOSÉ ZORRILLA

He is a poet who stands out aboveall in the narrative poetry of legendary content. One of his most
important poems is the one he dedicated to Mariano Jose de Larra after his death.

POSTROMANTIC POETRY (PART 2)

From the decade of 1859 some young writers who did not live in the high point of Romanticism.
They joined the romantic movement, as they felt the same need to express their feelings and
experience the inner exploration that drove the romantics of the first period.

BÉCQUER
, well-structured
He considers that poetry arises from a creative process that has its origin in the exploration of
feelings and emotions. In that world, womwn have a priviledged positions,not only because they
represent beauty but also because ultimately they are poetry. Their RHIMES have an essentially
musical quality. They are short poems in assonant verses, in which love, lonliness and despair are
exalted. Bécquer was able to refine his feelings and express them in a meditated, well-structured,
simple poetry, but one that also

ROSALÍA DE CASTRO

She is a poet of Galician origin who elevated her mother tongue to a literary status. She had a
rebellious and non-conformist personality, and in his writings she feels very close to all the social
outcasts, especially the emigrants. Her main works are Cantares Gallegos, Folla novas, On the
bank of Sar.

ROMANTIC PROSE IN SPAIN

Within the narrative prose it can be distinguised between novel and sketch of manners:

THE NOVEL

It has similar features as the ones presented in other romantic types of prose. Many of these works
impress the readers with gruesome, bloody stories full of tragedies.

SKETCH OF MANNERS

It reflects the romantic taste for customs and popular characters. These are short stories, often
collected in the form of newspaper articles. Some writers use them to criticise some baneful social
and political customs which reflected the backwardness of Spain compared to the rest of Europe.

MARIANO JOSÉ DE LARRA

When the Napoleonic troops were expelled from Spain, Larra and his family had to flee to France,
where he was educated. In his articles he deals with customs, literature and politics. As a critic of
customs he fought for a better future for Spain.
Two reasons caused him to commit suicide in 1837: the desertion of his mistress and the
imposibility of being a member of Spanish cortes due to a coup d'etat.

ROMANTIC DRAMA IN SPAIN

The romantic drama triumphed in Spain later than in the rest of Europe, since it did not crystallize
until 1839 or 40. The preferred form is drama (dramatic genre), as it mixes the tragic and the comic.

The break of moulds that Neoclassicism had previously established, is reflected in the following
characteristics:

a) It mixes prose and verse.

b) The rule of the three units (place, action and time) fell into disuse.
c)Plays have five or more acts, instead of the three classical acts.

Regarding the content:

1. The principal themes that are dealt with are impossible loves, political rebellions, suicides,
revenges, casualties, etc.
2. The characters are usually mysterious people, generous heroes, or political rebels.
3. The settings in which the actions takes place are usually mysterious places, cementaries,
ruins, inhospitable places, storms, etc.

DUQUE DE RIVAS
Two works stand out in his thatrical production:
•Don Álvaro or the force of fate, meant the triumphof romantic drama, although part of the public
was disatisfied with the innovations presented in the play.
• El desengaño de un sueño with which the Duque de Rivas tried to turn a corner in his work.

JOSÉ ZORRILLA

His fame was due to his theatrical work. Two plays stand out in his work:

• Don Juan Tenorio is about a man who is a libertine and a seducer. For the protagonist there is no
moral or social impediments that prevent him from his eager to conquest. If similar characters are
taken into account, the Zorrilla´s Don Juan is saved thanks Doña Ines.
•Traidor, inconfeso y mártir in this play the author goes more deeply into the psychology of a
rebellious character who is doomed to disaster.