Romanticism in Spanish Literature - Theatre

Theatre

Neo-classical theatre did not manage to have much effect on Spanish tastes. At the beginning of the 19th century, works from the Siglo de Oro became popular. These works were disdained by the neo-Classicists for not following the rule of three parts (action, place, and time) and for mixing comic and dramatic aspects. Nevertheless, these works were successful outside Spain, precisely because they did not conform to the neo-Classical ideal.

Romanticism triumphed in the Spanish theatre with La conjuración de Venecia (The Venetian Conspiracy), by Francisco Martínez de la Rosa, El Trovador (The Troubador), by Antonio García Gutiérrez, and Los amantes de Teruel (The Lovers of Teruel), by Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch. But the key event was in 1835, when Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino (Don Álvaro, or the Power of Fate), by the Duke of Rivas, had its premiere.

Drama was the most developed of the theatrical genres. All works contained lyrical, dramatic, and fantastical elements. Freedom ruled in all aspects of the theatre:

• Structure: The rule of the three unities, imposed on Spanish literature of the Enlightenment, disappeared. Dramas, for example, could have five acts in verse, or in prose and mixed verse, with variable metre. If in neo-Classical works stage directions were unacceptable, this did not prevail in Romanticism, where they occurred frequently. The monologue took on new importance, becoming the principal means of expressing a character's internal struggle.
• Setting: Theatrical action gained dynamism by using a variety of settings in the same production. Authors set their works in places typical of Romanticism, such as cemeteries, ruins, solitary countrysides, prisons, etc. Nature corresponded to the feelings and states of mind of the characters.
• Plot: Romantic theatre tend to have plots with legendary, adventurous, knightly, and historical-national themes, with love and freedom as typical elements. Frequent motifs were nocturnal scenes, duels, shadowy, mysterious characters, suicides, and displays of gallantry or of cynicism. Events occurred at a dizzying speed. The point of drama was not to enlighten, as the neo-Classicists intended, but rather to move.
• Characters: The number of characters in a play increased. The masculine hero was usually brave and mysterious. The heroine was innocent and faithful, but having an intense passion. But both were marked for a fatal destiny; death is liberation. More importance was given to the dynamism of the action than the psychology of the characters.