Defining Romantic Drama: Characteristics and Spanish Playwrights

These works had been a dream. They are common moral or philosophical digressions which expose their various theories.

Romantic Era Theater: Characteristics and Authors

In contrast to the manners and moralizing of Neoclassicism, Romantic Drama stands as a denial of the previous stage's precepts. It rejects the rule of the three units (space, time, and action), often mixing the comic with the tragic. Drama emerges strongly because the Romantic individual holds a torn and dramatic conception of life. This movement has the following characteristics:

1. The basic theme is usually love, often impossible or tragic, accompanied by challenges, revenge, and mourning, all marked by fate or dark forces against which nothing can be done. There is also a preference for historical subjects, capturing the essence of history. The issue of time is crucial; characters often live under the pressure of a specific deadline, creating an atmosphere of anguish.

2. The characters embody the idea of freedom. The romantic hero is a mysterious character (anacnólisis), carrying an ominous fate. He seeks happiness, but misfortune pursues him. He is physically beautiful, a seducer, and a rebel who does not accept rules or impositions, often having a diabolical quality. The romantic heroine is a beautiful woman capable of giving her life for love, often suffering greatly.

3. Preferred environments include medieval landscapes, inhospitable settings, graveyards, and night scenes with storms. The scenery is crucial as it influences the viewer's mental reactions. All scenic effects are meticulously explained in the stage directions, which become true scenic boxes.

4. These works reject the conventions of neoclassical comedy. They have no pretense of a didactic aim; their sole purpose is to move the viewer, emphasizing theatricality.

5. The separation of tragedy and comedy is erased, leading to the existence of the drama genre, which contains elements of both. This results in a mixture of styles, contrasting the refined with the colloquial or vulgar, and blending tears and laughter. The number of acts is flexible, not limited to three (often five or seven). There is Polarimetry and even a mixture of prose and verse.

6. The importance of monologues is evident, as they are used to explain the inner feelings of the characters.

Key Spanish Romantic Dramas and Playwrights

Romantic drama triumphed in Spain starting in 1834, with the premiere of The Conspiracy of Venice by Martínez de la Rosa. Subsequent successes include Don Álvaro or the Force of Fate by the Duke of Rivas, The Troubadour by García de la Huerta, and The Lovers of Teruel by Hartzenbusch. During the 1840s, the dominant playwright was Zorrilla. This author is also known for The Traitor, Unacknowledged and Martyr (1849) and Don Juan Tenorio (1844), where he developed the famous myth of Don Juan, a figure found in literature for centuries.