POST-ROMANTICISM: definition, characteristics and authors

There is an artistic trend that appeared to mid XIX and that was characterized by being a hybrid between Romanticism and Realism. We talk about Post-romanticism, a movement that triumphed in France and later triumphed in other corners of the world such as Spain. From this movement other currents arose that also had a great apogee in the world of art, such as, for example, symbolism or Parnassianism. All this led to the appearance of the artistic avant-gardes in the early twentieth century, a groundbreaking current whose foundations must be found in Post-Romanticism.

In a PROFESSOR we want to discover you in more detail what is Postromanticism, its characteristics and most prominent authors in a very complete summary that will show you this artistic trend that, many times, is eclipsed in the history of art and literature.

Index

1. Summary of literary Postromanticism
2. Literary Genres of Postromanticism
3. Characteristics of Postromanticism
4. Authors of post-romanticism in Spain
5. Post-romanticism in Spain

We will begin the lesson by discovering what literary Postromanticism is, as we want to focus on the area of ​​the letters and, in this way, we can extrapolate their characteristics to other planes artistic.

As we have already anticipated, Postromanticism is born from the mixture of ideas of Romanticism and of the ideas of Realism, two currents that may seem contradictory, but that can coexist perfectly, since in both cases the artists have a nonconformist and critical spirit with the society in which they live. The way to denounce society is how they differ, but the basis is the same: criticize it in order to renew it.

Post-romantics are still dissatisfied with societyBut they do not have such an abrupt rejection against the bourgeoisie. They are still lonely and intimate people in order to unleash their deepest talent, but highlight the marginality in which artists live, thus making a critique of materialism and of the society in which they you live.

The social hypocrisy It is also a very important issue among post-romantics and, as we see, they come out of their interior and their emotions (the romantic refuge par excellence) to denounce the exterior and the reality that surrounds them (the main theme of the realistic).

The most prominent Postromantic genres were the theater and the novel. However, poetry did not manage to move away so much from the romantic force and we did not find such groundbreaking and original proposals as in the others subgenres mentioned. However, there are some changes that you should keep in mind; then we analyze them

Post-romantic poetry

The great change that Postromanticism brings to the field of poetry is that, now, the form does not It is as important as the subject matter, the emotions and the ideas that the author wants express. We are, then, before a type of poetry that is more personal and intimate. Due to this, post-romantic metrics are very varied and the structure that does We saw during Romanticism: there are many voices and, each poet, defends his ideas as best place. Among the poets of Postromanticism we highlight Oscar Wilde, Elizabeth Barrett-Browning, etc.

Novel and theater of Postromanticism

The changes brought about by Postromanticism are best seen in these two narrative subgenres. The two forms will have a realistic component, but in which elements of symbolism are inscribed that will give a more emotional and metaphorical significance to what is being narrated. Some authors of narrative Postromanticism are Herman Melville and Thomas Carlyle.

To better understand what Postromanticism is, it is interesting to discover those elements that make this current unique and different from the others. Here we leave you a review of the characteristics of Postromanticism highlights so that you can better understand this lesson:

• It is a fusion of the ideas of Romanticism and Realism
• This type of literature and art has a critical vision of society and many of the issues they deal with are social (not emotional)
• The authors of Postromanticism are lonely beings who seek expressive freedom
• The search for beauty regains its strength, as the authors want to find it by using the words
• From Postromanticism was derived Symbolism and Parnassianism
• The poetry followed the romantic trail, but incorporating historical details and the form loses its interest. We are facing a more intimate and personal subgenre
• The theater and the novel, more realistic in nature, incorporate elements typical of the romantics such as symbolism and metaphysical readings of their works. The focus is on the personal experience of the characters, that is, on what they feel and think

We are now going to meet the authors of Postromanticism in Spain, since in the country we find a large number of very prominent names in literature. We will separate them according to the literary subgenre that they cultivate, in order to better understand their work.

Post-Romantic Poetry Authors

• Gustavo Adolfo Becquer
• Rosalia de Castro
• Ramon de Campoamor
• Gaspar Núñez de Arce
• Ricardo Blanco Asenjo
• Jose Velazquez
• Luis Martínez Güertero
• Etc.

Post-Romantic playwrights and novelists

• Jose Echegaray
• Joaquin Dicenta
• Leopoldo Cano
• Eugenio Sellés
• Joaquin Dicenta
• Pedro Marquina
• Robert Robert
• Etc.

We will finish this summary of literary Postromanticism by talking about the current in Spain, since it had a strong reception and there were many authors who followed this artistic trend. In general terms, you should know that Post-Romanticism in Spain was characterized by 3 trends:

• A style ironic and disappointed (led by Ramón de Campoamor)
• One more style intimate, personal and subjective (embodied by Bécquer and de Castro)
• A style ideological and more energetic (defended by Núñez de Arce)

The Postromanticism movement came to Spain in mid XIX. One of the most differentiating elements with respect to Romanticism is that, now, the authors no longer wanted to fill their texts with decorative elements or ornamental, but they were looking for a simpler, more pure style and in which the view towards society also had a place, not so much the observation inside.

Rosalia de Castro She is one of the most important authors of the post-romantic movement in Spain and, in fact, it is to her that Galician literature resurfaced again. "Cantares gallegos" is his first book and is full of popular forms of his land, with their own customs and with a tone that vindicates the Galician character and culture.

Becquer He is another of the most important authors of Post-Romanticism in the country and of his literary production we highlight his "Rhymes and legends", a totally post-romantic union in which the author demonstrates his lyrical and personal voice, at the same time that he focuses on recovering legends from history.

If you want to read more articles similar to Postromanticism: summary, characteristics and authors, we recommend that you enter our category of History of Literature.

• Randolph, D. TO. (2017). Don Manuel Cañete, literary chronicler of romanticism and post-romanticism in Spain. The University of North Carolina Press.
• PALENQUE, M. (1991). "Spanish poetry. II: Posromanticismo ", ed. Walter A. Dobrian (Book Review). Bulletin of Hispanic Studies (Liverpool), 68 (4), 542.
• Robles, J. M. M. (2004). Between post-romanticism and the avant-garde. Theoretical and aesthetic proposals at the end of the century:: A reading of the History of Art by D. Francisco de P. Valladar. In XIV National Congress of Art History: Correspondence and integration of the Arts. Málaga, from September 18-21 (pp. 789-794). Department of Art History.