Romanticism: Key Characteristics, Literature, and Authors
Romanticism
The first country where this new spirit emerged was Germany. Later, it spread to England, France, Italy, and Spain.
Features
- Subjectivity and self-centeredness: Overstates the value of the individual.
- Freedom: The truth is found within every person and is always unique.
- Nationalism: A profound feeling of national identity.
- Dynamic Nature: Nature reflects the romantic mood; works are often filled with storms and desolate landscapes.
- Irrationalism: Opposition to rationalism, prioritizing emotions over the logic of the previous period, and valuing the supernatural and mysterious.
- Evasion: Feeling disillusioned by their surroundings, romantics prefer to dream of and idealize other worlds.
- Love: Conceived as an absolute value that gives meaning to life.
Lyric Poetry
Topics
- Love: A source of pain and disappointment, or a supreme good that conquers all.
- Freedom: A legitimate aspiration of the human soul.
- Nature
Metrics and Expression
- Acute Handbill: Eight lines, minor art, heroic verse, rhyme (abbé, CDDE).
- Eighth Acute: Eight lines of major art, heroic verse, rhyme (Abbe, CDDE).
- Revival: Romances and songs were retrieved.
- Expression: Feelings are conveyed through symbols, adjectives, exclamations, and accessible language.
José de Espronceda
In his youth, he fought against absolutism, which led to prison and exile. During this time, he met the great love of his life, Teresa Mancha, to whom he dedicated his Song to Teresa.
Works
- The Student of Salamanca
- The Devil World (includes the Song to Teresa)
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
He wrote short poems that spring directly from his feelings.
Topics
- Rhymes I to XI: Reflection on the act of writing poetry.
- Rhymes XII to XXIX: Love is everywhere.
- Rhymes XXX to LI: Deepening disillusionment.
- Rhymes LII to LXXVII: Focus on loneliness and death.
Romantic Theater
- Structure: Breaks the three classical unities; stories vary in location and take place over indefinite time periods.
- Metrics: A mixture of verse and prose.
- Characters:
- Hero: A mysterious being with a miserable fate, freedom-loving, and rebellious against the world.
- Lady: Characterized by sweetness, innocence, and passion; she is born, lives, and dies for love.
- Topic: Love beyond good and evil, an impossibility that leads to death.
Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas
He cultivated both poetry and theater. In theater, his most notable work is Don Álvaro, or the Force of Destiny.
Don Álvaro, or the Force of Destiny
- Theme: The central theme is ill-fated, impossible love, alongside issues such as moral beliefs, politics, and honor.
- 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 the new life of Don Álvaro and his tragic end. It is revealed that Leonor is not dead, but her brother kills her in the presence of Álvaro, who then commits suicide.