Literary romanticism: main characteristics

In the 18th century literature we find the emergence of an artistic trend that is based on the individual, on the most human emotions and feelings. We refer to romanticism, a movement that greatly influenced the vast majority of the arts, such as painting, music and, of course, literature. In this lesson from a TEACHER we want you to discover the main characteristics of literary romanticism so that you learn to detect the bases on which this new movement was built, which brought us such important voices as Victor Hugo, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer or Walter Scott.

Before entering fully and talking about the characteristics of literary romanticism it is important that let us understand why this new philosophical and artistic trend arose that influenced so much in the society of The time.

In the Europe of the XVIII It was when romanticism appeared, a new trend that bet on a different aesthetic, a new philosophy and a new way of making and understanding art. We came from the time of

Illustration, a period in which reason and humanism triumphed, leaving aside emotions, feelings and dreams.

Therefore, in response to this very pragmatic world, romanticism, a bet for the subjective "me" and for the exaltation of the emotions and the dream world. A return was made to the past, to national folklore and traditions to find the individuality of the country and its characteristics. This led to a flowering of nationalism and a return to the Greco-Latin world and to the Middle Ages.

In Spain, literary romanticism began to appear in the early nineteenth century and its importance remained until the last decades of the same century. The most prominent names are Victor Hugo and in Spain Gustavo Adolfo Bequer or José de Espronceda.

Let's go into the subject and highlight what are the characteristics of literary romanticism. In this way, we will be able to learn to detect if a text or an author is ascribed to the romantic current that influenced so much in the 18th and 19th centuries.

As we have already said, it is a movement that reacted against materialism and enlightened rationalization. The subjective "me" took control and the reality that was explained was always passed through the filter and the poet's perspective was very emotional, with feelings on the surface and very suffering.

Here we leave you a list with the main features of romanticism so you can get to know them better:

Individualism

In romanticism, there is a commitment to a return to both personal and social individualism (in fact, that is why there was a resurgence of nationalist movements and a revision of traditions). The poet once again takes the reins of the poetic discourse to express his feelings, his emotions and leave testimony of the ephemeral beauty of life.

Importance of emotions

The discourse of romantic authors is completely transformed from the previous trend. Now it is not a question of reflecting an objective and real world but of offering a projection of his own feelings in the work of art. Romantic creations can be considered as a reflection of the interior of the poets or of the artists who take advantage of elements of reality to endow them with the meaning that they themselves looking for.

The influence of nature

One of the most outstanding characteristics of literary romanticism is that, now, the natural landscape that appears in artistic works is totally dependent on the author's state of mind. That is, if they are immersed in a sad emotion, the landscapes that he will paint or that he will describe will be in communion with that emotion and feeling; and the same if he is happy and cheerful. Therefore, nature will no longer be presented in an objective way, but will always pass the filter of the artist's emotion, which will mold it according to his own feelings.

Rebellious artist

Normally, the romantic artist is characterized by being misunderstood and by rebelling against society. They tend to live apart from the world since they do not feel that no one can understand their extreme sensitivity and that everyone can harm them. They do not live according to social rules because they are only carried away by feelings and love.

Pessimistic literature

The general tendency found in romantic poems is one of pessimism. The reason is that the author feels all the sorrow in the world in an extreme way, he lives with a perennial hyper-sensitivity that prevents him from being fully happy. Melancholy, tragedy and mixed feelings are typical of romantic authors.

Craving for freedom

Another characteristic of literary romanticism is that artists, with their works, what they seek is freedom. Freedom of expression, feeling and communication. They do not follow social norms or academic premises, they are only carried away by their emotions and, Therefore, they are in constant search of that creative freedom that leaves behind the predominance of reason neoclassicist.

The "I" comes to the fore

With romantic literature we find a return to individualism and, therefore, to subjectivity. External reality no longer matters so much, but internal emotions, the perspective of each poet and how he feels and lives the world take on great importance. Anthropocentrism invades art again.

Exaltation of imagination and fantasy

It is also typical of romanticism to evoke situations and scenes that seem to be taken from fairy tales. During this period, fantasy and imagination are again strengthened, leaving simple and plain reality in the background.

Once you know the main characteristics of romanticism in literature, it is important that we briefly analyze what they are the most common topics of said artistic current. In the neoclassicism prevailing in the eighteenth century, we found ourselves with social issues and traditional paintings that reflected society in an objective and truthful way.

But now, imagination, emotions and the subjective "me" they become masters and masters of artistic production. For this reason, the themes of literature and art in general change completely. The most prominent and the most cultivated by the main romantic artists were the following:

• Legends: romanticism promoted a revision of traditions and folklore. In Spain, the Middle Ages was one of the periods most evoked by the romantics because, from here, came a lot of myths and legends that spoke of heroes, kings, knights, etc. Therefore, this type of literature was very abundant, especially in Hispanic letters.
• Love: is the star theme of romantic artists. And not only love seen from the positive and happy point of view, but rather, tragic love, impossible love. This is the love sentiment most cultivated by romantics who, with extreme sensitivity, manage to move us and empathize with delicate verses loaded with poetry.
• Death: is another of the great themes of romantic literature. The shadow of death in our lives and the presence of death as a way to achieve liberation and putting an end to human suffering is one of the literary constants that we see in the texts romantics In fact, many artists in the movement committed suicide or played on the edge of life-death because they were drawn to the hidden world and the unknown.
• Religion: within romantic literature there is also a presence of religious themes. However, the most common thing in these texts is the confrontation with the divinity or with God to render accounts of their suffering and pain in the world.
• Social or political issues: There are also authors who created romantic texts that spoke about issues that directly affected the people. Let us remember that this literary movement promoted the rise of nationalism and that what it was looking for was the maximum liberation of the peoples and their inhabitants. They denounced absolutism and defended the idea of ​​a free and just world.