Spanish Romanticism: Evolution, Themes, and Literary Expressions

The Dawn of Romanticism in Spain

The entry of Romanticism into Spain was facilitated by new European ideas that began to circulate from 1810 onwards. This was largely thanks to the dissemination of German Romantic writers, who influenced 17th-century Spanish theater. The penetration of the Romantic movement was made possible through three key entry points: Levante, Andalusia, and the return of emigrants.

Late Romanticism emerged in Spain when Germany, France, and England were already evolving towards other literary trends. While some critics have attempted to date the movement's beginning in 1814 and its end in 1849, these specific dates are difficult to universally accept.

Stages of Spanish Romantic Literature

We can identify three distinct stages in the development of Spanish Romantic literature:

• Transition from Neoclassicism to Romanticism: Key figures include El Duque de Rivas, Martínez de la Rosa, and Estébanez Calderón.
• Maturity: Represented by authors such as Larra and Espronceda.
• Final or Post-Romantic Period: Characterized by the works of Bécquer and Rosalía de Castro.

Core Themes of Spanish Romanticism

Spanish Romanticism was deeply influenced by a set of recurring themes:

• Historical and Legendary Focus

  For historical and legendary reasons, Spanish Romanticism showed a strong interest in the Middle Ages, which served as a continuous source of inspiration, particularly for epic and troubadour poetry. The Golden Age, in contrast, was less frequently explored as a subject.

• Feelings: Love and Death

  There were two primary ways to understand love:

  • Sentimental Love: Considered an unattainable ideal.
  • Passionate Love: Understood as an overwhelming and thoughtless feeling.

  Death was a familiar feeling for the Romantic individual, who often considered it a liberation from life.

• Religion

  Often, we find a critical view of God, who, according to the thinking of the time, appeared distant and insensitive to human problems.

• Social and Political Concerns

  Romantic writers attempted to bring freedom to all areas of human life:

  • Politics: They demanded the right to free expression of thought.
  • Society: They defended the people's freedom to revolt against absolutism.
  • Literature: They sought the abolition of rules that hindered the spontaneity of the creative act.

Stylistic Characteristics and Literary Language

Spanish Romantic literature is characterized by a significant stylistic renovation, summarized as follows:

• Development of narrative elements.
• Abundant use of effective rhetorical devices.
• Combination of conflicting literary values within the same work.
• Enrichment of literary language.

Main Forms of Romantic Literature

• Prose

  Romantic prose highlights several important forms:

  • The Historical Novel: A clear example of Romantic escapism, expressing the dominance of imagination and a taste for recreating past worlds.
  • The Costumbrista (Manners) Genre: This genre would serve as a basis for future nonfiction. Romantic costumbrismo could take two forms:
    • The painting of manners, which focused on describing picturesque situations.
    • The article of manners, which usually contained a more critical and thoughtful intention.
  • The Prose Legend: A genre that captured the Romantic taste for mystery and intense sentimentality.

  The most important prose examples include: El joven Enrique el Doliente by Larra, Sancho Saldaña by Espronceda, and El Señor de Bembibre by Gil y Carrasco.

• Theater

  Drama was the dominant theatrical form of the time, ranging from tragedies to what could be considered comedies. Romantic drama is characterized by several features:

  • Elimination of the three unities (time, place, action).
  • Employment of verse or a mixture of verse and prose.
  • Introduction of great scenic effects.
  • Preference for historical subjects.
  • Dealing with conflicts inherent to Romanticism.

• Poetry

  Poetry itself had two very marked features: its dominant position over other literary forms and a Platonic view of love. In Spanish poetry of the time, we find two main trends:

  • Poetry of a legendary-historical character.
  • Lyrical and sentimental poetry (notably by Bécquer and Rosalía de Castro).