Romanticism: Key Characteristics and Literary Evolution

The Romantic Movement: 19th Century Origins

Romanticism developed in the nineteenth century as a culmination of trends in opposition to Enlightenment rationalism. Its core pillars include:

• Freedom: In politics, it defended a liberal state that recognized the rights of citizens.
• Moral: It stood against restrictive social conventions.
• Artistic: It opposed rules that limited creative ability.

Genius, Inspiration, and Individualism

The Romantic artist valued the ability to create original and unique works. Romanticism laid claim to the particular individual human being, and the exaltation of self and subjectivity emerged as the source of any creative work. Furthermore, the Romantics rebelled against society through evasion and irrationalism.

Stages of Romanticism

Authors of Liberal Ideology

Focused on social criticism, exemplified by José de Espronceda.

Authors of Traditional and Conservative Ideology

Focused on remote characters and stories rooted in Spanish tradition.

Romantic Theater

The romantic drama sought to impress the audience with melodramatic stories featuring mystery. The central theme is the love between protagonists, persecuted for social reasons, leading to a tragic denouement. These works combined comic and tragic elements, using both rhyme and prose with varying line lengths on stage.

Romantic Poetry

Poetry collected narrative legends, historical events, and imagined stories. Key topics included:

• Passionate love
• The essence of the soul in the world
• Diabolical characters
• Social criticism and marginal characters

The Prose Narrative

Prose reached widespread diffusion with the historical novel, expressing a desire to escape the present through admiration for earlier times, notably through the work of Mariano José de Larra.

Post-Romanticism

Post-Romanticism shifted toward intimate poetry based on the expression of emotions, feelings, and the reflection of nature.

Key Figures

• Rosalía de Castro: Born in 1837 in Santiago de Compostela. She married Manuel Murguía, returned to Galicia, and died in 1885 in Padrón.
• Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer: Born in 1836 in Seville (surname Domínguez Bastida). Orphaned at a young age, his Rhymes are characterized by their brevity, instinct, and musicality.