Don Juan Tenorio

We are going to introduce some concepts from Spanish Romanticism Literature from this webpage:

http://www.classicspanishbooks.com/19th-cent-romanticism.html

Spanish Romanticism Literature

Romanticism is a movement that occurred during the first half of the 19th century and which affected all aspects of life, especially culture and art. It originated in Germany and the United Kingdom at the end of the 18th century as a revolutionary reaction to the rationalism present during the Enlightenment and Neoclassicism, and it emphasized feelings over reason. Romanticism is subjected to each individual's feelings, so there are many variations between countries, and even in the same nation.

Spanish Romanticism Literature

Romanticism developed during the first half of the 19th century, before the arrival of Realism, and it reached Spain when the rest of Europe had already moved on to new cultural movements. This is why Romanticism in Spain was such an intense movement: it was condensed in time and all the resources were already available, especially when the translated works of the great English and German writers of Romanticism reached the country.

The beginning of the 19th century was a time of high political tension as the conservatives attempted to defend their privileges while the liberal and progressive elements tried to supplant them. Traditional Catholic thought had to defend hard against the freethinkers of the period, who often followed the philosophies of the German Karl C.F. Krause. Spain was seen as a kind of backwards, old-world kind of country in Europe, as the rest of the countries were undergoing extensive industrial development and cultural enrichment.

Romanticism made it to Spain through both the southern region of Andalusia, and the northern region of Catalonia. Andalusia was the place where Juan Nicolás Böhl de Faber, who was in fact the father of Spanish novelist Fernán Caballero, decided to publish a collection of articles between the years of 1818 and 1819, in which he defended Spanish Golden Age theatre. These works were later attacked by a variety of the neo-Classicist writers such as José Joaquín de Mora and Antonio Alcalá Galiano.

Later, in the Spanish region of Catalonia, a journal entitled "El Europeo" was published in the city of Barcelona between 1823 and 1824 by a collection of international journalists. Following the example of Böhl de Faber, the journal widely defended the traditionalist Romanticism style, and totally rejected the values of Neo-Classicism. It was it this publication that a feature of the Romantic ideology first appeared, under the title of Romanticismo.

There are two types of Romanticism:

Traditional Romanticism: defends the restoration of traditional ideals in politics, religion and nationalism that were present during the previous century. Some authors are Walter Scott in England, Chateaubriand in France and José Zorrilla in Madrid, Spain.

Revolutionary Romanticism: has three main aspects: search and proof of the irrational knowledge denied by reason, Hegelian dialectic and historicism. The main authors are Lord Byron in England, Victor Hugo in France and José de Espronceda in Spain.

The main characteristics of Romanticism are:

Rejection of Neoclassicism: romanticism doesn't abide by the rules imposed during Neoclassicism. The Romantics mix different genres and verses, and don't respect the Aristotelian three-unit rule.

Subjectivism: the feelings of the author are the most important thing in Romanticism, and they live them to the extremes. Their emotions are reflected in their works, and they can turn a landscape into a despairingly bleak scene to match their mood. Love is the most important feeling of all, and it should be lived intensely, whether good or bad.

Attraction towards the nocturnal and the mysterious: Romantics loved anything that escaped reason, like miracles, visual hallucinations, and anything to do with witchcraft and world of spirits.

Escape from their surroundings: Romantics reject the bourgeois world they live in, and in their works they evoke and imagine past and better days, and exotic lands. Romantics are attracted by the Middle Ages and Renaissance as times of mystery and occultism.

"Costumbrismo" was one of the most important aspects of the school of Romanticism. Its main topics were the folkloric habits, especially those of the lower classes, and they used the language in its purest form. Costumbrismo was generated as a sign of melancholy and nostalgia towards past customs and ideals, and it contributed to the decadency of Romanticism and the beginning of Realism. In Spain, the main author of the Costumbrismo is Mesonero Romanos, who was more on the sidelines of Romanticism literature.

Romanticism prose

The Spanish Romantic prose genre actually spans several genres: historic novels, costumbrist vignettes and journalism. Spanish narrative during this period was quite scarce because most of the material was translated from the great English and French authors, and the Spanish production was merely an imitation of these works. Journalism, with Mariano José de Larra, has a key role in the spread of the Romantic ideals in Spain.

Prose of the Spanish Romanticism

During Romanticism there was a desire for fiction literature, especially novels, because people wanted to read about adventures and mysteries. However, the Spanish production of Spanish Romantic prose is quite scarce, and most of the available works were translations of the works of English, German and French authors. There were over 1000 translations before 1850, mostly the works of Dumas, Chateaubriand, Walter Scott and Victor Hugo. The Spanish prose during this time was limited to some novels, journalism, scientific essays and costumbrist works. There were four main types of novels during the first quarter of the 19th century: educational, sentimental, terror and anticlerical.

Historic novel

The historic novel in the school of Spanish Romantic prose is developed by imitation of the works of the Scottish writer, Walter Scott. It follows two tendencies: liberal and moderate. The first covers anticlerical and folkloric topics, while the latter covers more traditional topics like the exaltation of traditional and religious ideals.

The main authors of the historic novel are:

-          Enrique Gil y Carrasco: lawyer and diplomat, author of "El Señor de Bembribe", the best historic novel to be influenced by the works of walter Scott.

-          Antonio Trueba: he wrote legends and short stories set in Castile or the Basque Country. His best work is "Paloma y Halcones".

-          Francisco Navarro Villoslada: his works are mostly written at the end of the Romanticism period and at the beginning of the Realism period, and are normally set in the Middle Ages. His best work is "Amaya".

Costumbrist Vignettes

Costumbrist literature develops in Spain from 1820 to 1870. The main works deriving from it are the Costumbrist vignettes, which are short texts in prose which describe, with a lot of attention to detail and sometimes in a satiric tone, typical scenes of the Spanish way of life. Costumbrist vignettes don't have a dramatic development or a plot: they are an immobile description of reality, and reading one is like you are undergoing a Spanish immersion in Spain.

Costumbrist as a movement of Spanish Romantic prose appears because of the Romantic wish of exalting anything that's different or peculiar in some way. Costumbrist vignettes were so popular in Spain that they even affected the development of the novel genre. The two main authors of the Spanish costumbrist movement were Mesonero Romanos and Serafín Estébanez Calderón.

Journalism

Journalism plays a vital role for both the culture of Spain as well as the Spanish Romantic prose of the 19th century. It was during this time that it was born as a literary genre. It worked as a way of introducing the Revolutionary ideals in Spain, and it also helped to spread them throughout the country. Journalism was a weapon for political struggle, and it was written in a clear, concise language that anyone could understand. On the literary front, journalism helped to introduce the works of Byron and Scott to the country.

After the death of Ferdinand VII in 1833, journalism goes through many important changes. The return of those who were exiled during the absolutist period signifies the arrival of new ideas, because those who'd been in exile had lived in much more developed countries like France and England. In 1836, the French writer Girardin revolutionizes journalism by creating a new genre: serialized novels. Spain was quick to copy the trend, although in Spain they became more popular between 1845 and 1855, near the end of the Romanticist period.

The main journalist during the Romanticist period was Mariano José de Larra, born in Madrid. He wrote both political and costumbrist articles, as well as literary critics of the romantic works his contemporaries wrote. Despite being involved in journalism, Mariano José de Larra is still considered to be one of the key players of Spanish Romanticism.

Romanticism poetry

Spanish Romantic poetry was a short lived but intense movement which took place during the first half of the 19th century. Romantic poetry was a lot more cultivated in countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany, but Spanish writers still produced a large amount of notable work. As with other Romantic literary work, poetry detaches itself from the strict rules of Neoclassicism. This was a time when creative and inventive imagination was becoming more important than reason. Myths and symbols were used instead of allegory. The Romantic writers talk about their emotions, freedom, love and social claims with a surprising intensity as the power of human emotion begins to be appreciated during this period. Furthermore, nature begins to be thought of as divine; particularly the smallest details such as pebbles and insects.

Poetry of the Spanish Romanticism

The definition of the term Romantic poetry varies however in general it is considered to be poetry that goes in search of freedom, contains a high emotional content, and uses various traditional and folkloric sources as inspiration. The poetry of the Spanish Romanticism movement during the first half of the 19th century is marked by the existence of two different movements: the neoclassic poetry spans from 1800 to 1830, and the truly Spanish Romantic poetry spans from 1830 to 1850. The writers of this section of Spanish Romantic poetry tended to produce different kinds of poems:

-          Intimate Poetry: this is the most Romantic type of work. The writer talks about his feelings on love, friendship, society...

-          Narrative Poetry: based on history or legends, and like a prose story, it has a setting, a plot and characters.

-          Epigrammatic Poetry: with satiric undertones

-          Social Poetry: the characters are normally outcasts who lead a free and exotic lifestyle.

All these types of poems have common characteristics, especially in the topics they treat, which are:

-          I, the inner self: Romantics all agree that reality was found inside one's self, and it couldn't be perceived through the 5 regular senses. For them, art is another form of knowledge, and the artist is a discoverer who's able to see inside himself and express what he sees through his works. This was particularly well done by Espronceda.

-          Passionate love: Love is consuming, sweeping and thoughtless. These poems are normally inspired in great historic and legendary loves.

-          Religion: most of the writers during this time were either atheists or agnostics, and many reject religion.

-          Social claims: writers yearn for equality in all aspects. They write about outcasts, social pariahs and often express the feelings of the workers who suffer the bourgeois lifestyle.

-          Nature: shown in all its glory and splendor. Compositions are normally set in mysterious, exotic and idyllic settings.

-          Satire: often used when writing about political or literary events.

Spanish Romantic poetry also affected the types of verses used. In comparison with previous movements like the Neoclassicism which adhered to specific verses, Spanish Romantic poetry uses all the verses available, often mixing them and using other languages and innovations as they liked. This was another way in which the Romantics rejected the reason and logic of previous literary movements. This innovative characteristic of Romanticism will also be present in the Modernism movement at the end of the century.

The most important authors of the Spanish Romantic poetry period are:

-          José de Espronceda, most characteristic figure of the Spanish Romantic poetry movement.

-          Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, post-romantic, one of the main players of Spanish poetry and precursor, together with Rosalía de Castro, a writer from the modern Spanish poetry period.

-          Rosalía de Castro, considered one of the precursors of modern Spanish poetry.

Some Spanish literature critics have claimed that some of the main Spanish Romantic poets only produced copies or echoes of the works written by foreign writers. Nonetheless, this means that these writers took influence from some of the best Romantic writers in the world, and then added their own touch, hence their work is still highly revered by most. However, other genres of Spanish Romantic literature were much more original than the poetry.

Bécquer's poems are still studied in Schools in Spain, and they have withstood the test of time, still being considered today as the perfect example of Spanish Romantic poetry.

Romanticism theatre

The Spanish Romantic theatre, like the rest of the Romantic literature in Spain, signified a rupture with the harmony and balance of the earlier Neo-classicist movement. Romanticism favors excess, exoticism, passion and feeling to reason or measure. The better known writers of the Spanish Romantic theatre period are José Zorrilla and the Duke of Rivas.

Theatre of the Spanish Romanticism

The forerunner of Spanish Romantic theatre is considered to be William Shakespeare, and in fact he did write about some of the popular Romantic topics during the Baroque period. However, Romanticism as a movement began in Germany and from there spread to the rest of Europe. Neoclassical theatre never had too many followers in Spain, and most of the plays represented during the 18th century dated back to the 17th century and the Golden Age.

Due to the fact that Romanticism arrived in Spain when most of the other European countries had already moved on to another movement, the school of Romantic literature was much more intense than in other parts of the continent, mainly because they already had all the resources available, and all the translations of the great Romantic literates to hand.

The star topic of Spanish Romantic theatre is love, but the kind of love that has to overcome many obstacles, and which almost always ends in tragedy. Fatality, cruel destiny and vengeance are also popular topics in the Romantic plays. They are usually set in the Middle Ages, with adaptations made by the author to best suit his needs. This is when the medieval Gothic settings begin to become popular, with characters such as vampires or ghosts, and plots that mixed romance, drama and horror. The authors also show a growing preoccupation towards the social inequalities they saw in their contemporary society, and they stage the importance of the individual over moral codes, the fight for political freedom, the passions and the soul conflicts from which they suffer.

In a way similar to playwrights who wrote in the Baroque period, Spanish Romantic theatre rejects the three units of narrative: time, place and action. Authors write without any restrictions, they use different settings, divide the plays in acts and use the metric measurements that best fit their plays.

Scenery starts gaining importance, and the decoration changes completely from one play to the other, transforming the theatre into a different world for each piece. They even had special effects. The new technical advances made it possible to have rotating or elevating platforms, steam engines, gas, electricity... Theatres would compete against each other and try and outdo themselves with ever more elaborate sets and special effects. The aim of the plays also changes. Whereas the Neo-classicist theatre was educational and had the aim of teaching the audience, the objective of Spanish Romantic theatre was to move the audience.

Language turns eloquent and rhetoric, and verses and prose mix for the first time. Monologues, which are the best way of expressing each character's feelings, become popular again. Even though the Spanish Romantic theatre tries to break loose from everything that reminds them of Neoclassicism, they still use some of the formulas of classic theatre, even though they don't use the forms. For example, anagnorisis is used frequently at the end of Romantic dramas, even though it was also a popular resource during Neoclassicism.

Characters, with the will to do as they please, embody freedom. The main character is normally a male hero, mysterious and brave, who follows some kind of fatal destiny even through the pursuit of happiness. He is a rebel and a seducer, who doesn't follow any rules or adhere to any impositions. If there's one, the female hero will follow him, and she will always be loyal and innocent. The plays usually finish tragically, with a death that frees both characters. Also, action and the acting of the characters gain more importance than the psychological motivations they may have.

All these changes brought by the Spanish Romantic theatre signify the end of the "corral de comedias" and the beginning of the Italian style of theatre in Spain. However, the buildings of the "corrales de comedias" are still standing and can be seen in Madrid and Ciudad Real.

Authors:

-   Ángel Saavedra y Ramírez de Baquedano, a.k.a. Duke of Rivas was a Spanish writer, play writer, poet, painter and politician. His better known work is "Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino" (1835). He was also president of the Spanish government for two days in 1854.

-   José Zorrilla y Moral is considered one of the best play writer of the Spanish Romantic theatre. His better known work is "Don Juan Tenorio", written in 1844. It's a romantic drama divided in two parts and talks about a young man who makes a bet with one of his friends to see who can make the most evil in a year, and if he can seduce Doña Inés, his friend's promised. Don Juan does everything he pleases with great ease, but he starts to lose his soul in all the evils he's carried out, and at the end of the story he has to confront his ghosts. Only the love of Doña Inés can help him then.

JOSÉ ZORRILLA

Zorrilla was born in Valladolid in 1817. His father was a strict conservative and absolutist man. The family lived in Valladolid, then they spent some years in Seville and Burgos, finally moving to Madrid when the poet was 9, where the father worked as a police superintendent and Zorrilla entered the Noble Seminar (Colegio Imperial de Madrid) where he took part in school plays.

After the death of Ferdinand VII, Zorrilla's father, as an absolutist, was exile to Lerma while his son moved to Toledo to study Law at the University. He stayed with a friend of his father's, who, after seeing Zorrilla didn't really study anything in school, sent him back with his family in 1833. His love of women, drawing and literature made his father angry and he sent him to Lerma to work. Zorrilla stole a mule and fled to Madrid instead.

It was 1836 when he arrived in Madrid, where he lived poorly and frequented the bohemian gatherings. He worked here and there and wrote for some newspapers. The Revolutionary speeches he gave in the Café Nuevo made him an object of police prosecution. At Larra's funeral in 1837, Zorrilla declaims an improvised poem in his memory, and earns the friendship of Espronceda and Hartzenbusch, and also established his fame as a poet. He started to write for "El Español" and "El Porvenir", and to frequent "El Parnasillo", a literary gathering where the best writers of the time met to talk about literature, society and politics.

In 1839 his first drama, "Juan Dándolo", was seen on stage, and in 1840 he published his "Cantos del Trovador" and released three more dramas: "Más vale llegar a tiempo", "Vivir loco y morir más" and "Cada cual en su razón". In 1838 he wed Florentina O'Reilly, an older Irish widow who had a son, but the marriage didn't work out: the son they had together died and Zorrilla kept several lovers.

In 1845 he left Florentina and moved to Paris, but he returned to Madrid a year later after the death of his mother. He sold he works to the Baudry House in Paris, who published them in 3 volumes in 1847. In 1849 Zorrilla was made Board Member of the recently founded Spanish Theatre; the lyceum honored him and the Spanish Royal Academy also made him an associate, although he wouldn't occupy hid place there until 1885. His father died that same year, and it was a hard blow for the writer because he never truly forgave him for running away and living as a writer. This weighted down Zorrilla's conscience and would affect his later works.

In 1851 he moved back to Paris, fleeing from his wife, and took a lover. In 1853 he traveled to London, and then spent 11 years in Mexico and a year in Cuba. In Mexico he lived with great economic difficulties until Maximilian I ascended to power and named him Director of the Mexican National Theatre.

After the death of his wife Florentina, Zorrilla moves back to Madrid where he hears about the execution of Maximilian, and he wrote an irate poem called "El Drama de un Alma", where he blamed the mexican liberals for the death of his friend. His faith suffered from a hard blow but his marriage to Juana Pacheco in 1869 helped him recover. The couple lives with hardy economic problems, and the help of several of his friends, the commercialization of his works and a government commission in Rome didn't help. However, he was constantly being showered with hon ours. He died in Madrid in 1893 as a consequence of a brain operation to remove a tumor. His remains were moved to Valladolid in 1896.

As a writer, Zorrilla didn't only write plays, although these were his master works. He also wrote poems and narrative. There are some elements of the poet's life which made a great impression in his works:

-   First, the relationship with his father, which wasn't a god one because he never forgave him for his juvenile errors. Zorrilla carried a great guilt with him, and this is probably the reason he cultivated traditional and conservative ideals, in constant contradiction to his own liberal thoughts.

-   Second, his sensual character and ease to fall in love. Love is actually one of the main and recurrent topics in Zorrilla's works.

-   Third, his health problems. The poet created a crazy double of himself in 1853, which appears in "Cuentos de un Loco" (Stories of a madman), and in his autobiography he mentions his hallucinations and sleepwalking. These are probably the effects of his brain tumor, but what isn't clear is if the numerous fantasy worlds he created were a result of his great imagination or of his mental illness.

Zorrilla's plays are still represented in many Spanish theatres, especially his masterpiece "Don Juan Tenorio". Zorrilla is also one of the main authors studied in schools in Spain as the perfect example of Spanish play writer whose works are still of importance, over a century after his death.