Spanish and Venezuelan Literary Customs: Key Figures and Romanticism

The Custom in Spain and Its Main Representatives

In Spain, the custom arose from the need to document social changes. Traditionalist Spanish writers also sought to act as society's censors, observing dispassionately from a slight distance to criticize what they deemed negative. Consequently, most Traditionalists hid their personalities under pseudonyms. The most prominent Spanish writers of custom, in chronological order, were Ramón Mesonero Romanos, Mariano José de Larra, and Serafín Estébanez Calderón.

Time of Origin for Customs in Venezuela

According to Mariano Picón Salas, Venezuelan custom emerged around 1830. After years of conflict, Venezuelans desired a sedentary lifestyle and peace, which he considered the first step towards the surrounding process in our literature.

The First Stage of Venezuelan Customs and Its Representatives

This initial stage includes articles published in Caracas newspapers before 1840. These works show an imitation of the Spanish custom style. Among the authors of this period are the scholar Juan Manuel Cagigal, Luis Daniel Beauperthuy, and our first great writer of customs, Daniel Mendoza.

Romanticism

Romanticism was a movement with a vast projection, impacting not only works dominated by imagination and feeling or the strictly literary field. Its influence radiated into facts and ideas, giving rise to the so-called social-historical romance. This romantic trend sought a new way to interpret and judge historical and social facts, incorporating imagination and sensitivity into disciplines aimed at educating and provoking thought. It originated in Germany and the United Kingdom.

Characteristics of Romanticism in Historical Writing

Critical Vision of Reality

The Romantic historian seeks to explain the facts presented, relating them to the past to find their roots.

Empathy

The historian identifies with the events narrated, often referencing national history and the contemporary moment.

Subjective View of Historical Fact

The historian, as the 'self,' is always present. Everything is imbued with subjectivity; the historian is moved by the facts and takes sides.

Support from Documentary Sources

The judgments prepared by the historian must be based on real documents. To achieve this, one must consult primary sources or the closest available streams, rather than relying on chronicles or secondhand accounts.

Poetic Style

As Romantics wrote with emotion, their style adapted to that circumstance. The prose used often had a declamatory tone, aiming to move and convince through rhetorical devices such as metaphors, exclamations, questions, and various poetic images.