Key Figures and Works of Spanish Romanticism

José de Espronceda

This author represents the prototype of the exaltado youth fighting against absolutism, which led him to prison and exile, where he met the love of his life, Teresa Mancha. Although he is the author of the historical novel Sancho Saldaña, Espronceda is, above all, a poet. His most important works include two long poems and several songs:

• El estudiante de Salamanca: Tells the story of Don Félix de Montemar, the seducer of young Elvira, set in a macabre and ghostly world.
• El diablo mundo: Tells the story of an old man who is transformed into a young man.
• Canciones: Poems featuring marginal characters that represent freedom and passion.

Lyric Poetry

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

Bécquer is a primary representative of intimate Spanish Romantic poetry. His work is collected under the title Rimas, containing 76 short poems:

• 1–11: Reflections on the nature of poetry.
• 12–29: The theme of love.
• 30–51: The theme of disillusionment.
• 52–77: Focuses on loneliness and death.

Rosalía de Castro

A Galician writer and another great figure of Romanticism, she focuses on themes of pain, loneliness, and death. Rosalía de Castro wrote poetry in both Galician and Castilian, notably Cantares gallegos and En las orillas del Sar.

Spanish Romantic Theater

Key playwrights include Francisco Martínez de la Rosa, Antonio García Gutiérrez, Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch, and Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas.

The Duke of Rivas: Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino

The Duke of Rivas cultivated both poetry and drama. His masterpiece, Don Álvaro, focuses on the theme of impossible and fateful love, alongside topics such as morality, politics, and honor. The structure consists of five acts divided into three parts:

• Part 1: Set in Seville, it introduces the love story of Don Álvaro and Leonor and recounts the death of the Marquis at the hands of Don Álvaro.
• Part 2: Shows the life of the lovers after the death of the Marquis.
• Part 3: Tells of Don Álvaro's new life and his tragic end; he discovers his beloved is not dead, but Leonor's brother kills her in the presence of Álvaro, who then commits suicide.