Authors and works of Spanish literary romanticism

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At the end of the eighteenth but, above all, at the beginning of the nineteenth is when the romantic movement invades Spanish letters. This movement, which began in France as response to Enlightenment and Neoclassicism, put the poet "I" back in the center of interest and, therefore, emotions, feelings and dreams filled the literature of the time. In Spain this movement also had a great influence and there were many authors who joined this new trend. At a PROFESSOR we want you to know who the authors and works of Spanish literary romanticism more prominent so that you can learn how this artistic-literary trend came to interfere in our history.

Index

1. Summary of romanticism in Spanish literature
2. José de Espronceda, one of the best known romantic authors
3. Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, the best known romantic author
4. Mariano José de Larra, the most romantic journalist
5. Rosalía de Castro, the quintessential romantic author
6. José Zorrilla, the most outstanding romantic playwright

Before getting to know the authors and works of Spanish literary romanticism, it is important that let us make a brief approach to this literary trend in order to understand what its contribution was in our letters. We must first contextualize the moment in which the romanticismsince it was a current that appeared in response to excessive rationality that had been imposed during the Enlightenment and Neoclassicism. At this time, the commitment to science and objectivity had been the fundamental pillars of artistic creation and, faced with this panorama, the romantics appeared claiming the role of the human being as an emotional being with dreams and hopes.

Therefore, the romanticism rebelled against materialism and realism that prevailed at the time and once again positioned man in the artistic eye. The man and all the emotions, his intimacy, his fear and his love in the center of gazes and reflection. The goal of the romantics was to conquer freedom in all senses: both individual and collective, and also artistic freedom.

In Spain, romanticism arrived a little later than in the rest of Europe (towards the beginning of the 19th century) since realism captured much of the authors' attention. However, when he arrived in the country, he did it with great force and some authors were fully affiliated with this new artistic trend. defender of love, feelings and "creative genius", that is to say, of the maximum individuality.

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We already begin with the list of the authors and works of Spanish literary romanticism to talk about one of the most prominent names in our literature: José de Espronceda. He is the best known romantic author of the first stage of movement romantic in the country. He had a very short life since at 34 years of age he died of diphtheria.

His style is very personal and concrete. In his poems, above all, he introduces us to characters who live marginally in society or who rebel against the establishment. Therefore, it is common to meet some types as a beggar, an executioner, etc.

Within his literary repertoire, we find some of the most representative works of the romantic genre such as "The student of Salamanca", "The devil world" or the "Song of the pirate". The first is, without a doubt, one of the best known poems in the history of our literature and, therefore, we will analyze it below.

The Salamanca student by Espronceda

It is a narrative poem with a great length. Tell us about history of Félix de Montemar, a seducer with donjuanesque overtones who tries to seduce Elvira. Montemar is about a character with somewhat dark and satanic tastes who, in the end, is forced to marry a skeleton.

It is a poem that is the highest representative of romanticism because it tells us about a love theme seen from a pessimistic and heartbreaking perspective. A complicated and very difficult love that is the main engine of literary action. The love and death they are mixed in this poem that, today, is a classic of literature.

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If we talk about romanticism in Spain, surely Bécquer is the best known name. And it is that he is one of the most international and well-known poets of the movement. He appeared in the late period Spanish romanticism and, therefore, many critics and experts in literature describe it as "post-romantic". He was a misunderstood author during his time and, in fact, did not gain fame until the time of his death.

Today, the figure of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer is one of the essential when we talk about the romantic movement in Spain. Works like his "Rhymes and Legends"They are studied and known by the vast majority of people in the world and demonstrate his enormous sensitivity, his refined poetry and his unique and exciting way of seeing the world.

Rhymes and Legends by Bécquer

His style is characterized by offering us a delicate tone and very careful verses with enormous lyrical power. But, in addition to writing in verse, Bécquer also wrote texts in prose; in fact, in the "Legends" we find fantastic stories written without rhyme and that present us with a 100% romantic world full of dreams, fantasy and unreality.

But he got his fame thanks to the "Rimas" which is a compendium of 79 short poems that tell us about 100% romantic themes such as, for example, love, anguish, heartbreak or poetry itself and the act of write it. He was one of the authors most imitated and who most influenced the later development of Spanish poetry since he brings us a intimate style, brief, simple and without too much artifice.

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Larra is another of the key names in the romantic movement in Spain. He is an essential name that, along with Bécquer or Espronceda, is always studied in colleges and universities. He was a very active author who, above all, is recognized by the writing of newspaper articles and essays. He also wrote some novels such as "El doncel Don Enrique el Doliente", however, where he stood out most was in his journalistic prose.

His style is characterized by his great irony and great criticism that he performs in his writings. All of them are texts that move between manners, literary reflection or political analysis and are made with a romantic vision of the world and with a very satirical touch. Some of the titles of the best known articles are:

• Come back tomorrow
• Marrying early and badly
• The old Castilian

He was a very prolific author in his time and he wrote more than 200 articles. For this reason, she ended up being one of the literary figures that activated the production of the genre of the essay that, during romanticism, had been in the background.

He sometimes did not sign with his own name but used some pseudonyms. Some of the best known are Figaro, Duende or Bachelor.

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We continue with this summary of the authors and works of Spanish literary romanticism to speak, now, of the presence of a outstanding female figure that also greatly influenced the literary production of the moment. She is a novelist and poet born in Santiago de Compostela who produced literary works both in Castilian language as in Galician.

Let us remember that one of the best known consequences of the triumph of romanticism was the rise of nationalist movements. The reason was that the romantics defended the freedom and individualism of each person but, also, they sought the individualism that characterized society. For this reason, nationalist sentiments began to emerge and authors such as Rosalía de Castro began to write in their native language. With this author, the Galician language once again positioned itself as a prestigious language and within the cultured level of the language.

The most outstanding works of the author were Galician songs or You fuck novas, in Galician, and On the banks of the Sar, written in Spanish. The most prominent of all was, precisely, the first that we have mentioned and, therefore, here we will make a brief comment on it.

Galician songs by Rosalía de Castro

It is a piece of poetry that was published in 1863. It's about a compendium of very diverse poems in which we find very varied themes such as, for example, poems of manners, love, intimate poetry or other social themes.

Such was the importance of this publication for Hispanic letters and, above all, for Galician letters that, nowadays, the Galician Literature Days coincides with the day this text was published for the first time: May 17.

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And we finish this selection of the most prominent names of literary romanticism in Spain to tell you about another of the best-known authors: José Zorrilla. He is a poet and playwright who was very active in literary production, however, where his mark left a great mark was in the theater ground. In fact, in his own handwriting, it is one of the best-known pieces in Spanish theater, such as "Don Juan Tenorio", "The shoe and the king" or "Traitor, unconfessed and martyr".

He was an artist with a great sexual and erotic temperament, something that we can see fully reflected in this theatrical piece that, today, is still performed all over the world. As we see, in Zorrilla love is also present in his production, although this love is more linked to passionate or sensual love.

Don Juan Tenorio by Zorrilla

This play is inspired by another piece written in the Golden Age by Tirso de Molina: "The Trickster of Seville". Here, we talk about the love affairs that Don Juan Tenorio lived through, a born seducer who was a master in the arts of love.

In this play, comedy, entanglement and love they are the main protagonists. However, we also see the reflection of the most magical romanticism when, at the end of the work, the two protagonists meet in the world of the Hereafter.

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