Los Amantes de Teruel | Page 9

mean a corresponding revolution in literary form and technique. Rules and conventions had kept accumulating about literature, until by the middle of the eighteenth century, when French Classicism dominated literary Europe, they were so rigid that only a few of the many men of letters were able to produce literature that was not wholly artificial and uninspired. Each kind of literature was supposed to be written in a certain way; narrative poetry had a certain prescribed meter; lyric poetry another; tragedy and comedy should be carefully kept apart. The Romanticist proceeded at once to throw overboard all these rules and conventionalities. Each literary production was to be judged upon its own merits as literature, not upon the closeness of its adherence to any set of rules, and each author was to be at liberty to get his results in any way that he might choose. Hence we find the mingling of literary genres, the neglect of the dramatic unities, the invention of new meters and the revival of old ones.
8. Richness of language. Because of the continual elimination of words considered unsuitable for literary expression, the language of the Classicists was becoming more and more impoverished, diction was becoming more and more stereotyped and artificial. The Romanticists, with their revolutionary ideas as to content, rebelled against any rule or convention that would restrict their choice of words or diction; seeking complete and effective self-expression, they turned to literary use all the resources of the language of their own time and of any other age as well. The result was a great enrichment of language through the effective use of highly colored, picturesque words and diction, as fresh and bright as newly coined pieces of gold.
Such are the general characteristics of the movement that had such a profound effect upon the literatures of western Europe in the closing years of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth. All of them may be observed in the literature produced in Spain during the twenty years from 1830 to 1850, although, naturally, they do not all have the same importance there as in other countries. In a general way it may be said that the movement was not so revolutionary as in France, for example, where Classicism had taken deeper root. Moreover, in Spain, Romanticism meant the revival of some of the literary ideals of the Siglo de Oro, and to this extent at least could hardly be considered revolutionary. The most complete representative of Romanticism in Spanish dramatic literature is the Don álvaro of Angel de Saavedra, better known as the Duque de Rivas; in this play are to be found all the above-mentioned characteristics, even those that have to do more naturally with lyric poetry, subjectivity and love of nature. Not only does it present Romanticism in its most effective form; it also shows the pitfalls of exaggeration and improbability that even the greatest Romanticists failed to avoid when the check of common sense was removed and free rein was given to the imagination. But since we are here concerned mainly with Los Amantes de Teruel, a play that demands for its understanding and appreciation much less familiarity with the Spanish language than that required by Don álvaro, the extent to which the masterpiece of Hartzenbusch is representative of Romanticism will now be briefly noted.[5]
[Footnote 5: In order that the student may discover for himself the essential differences between the two schools of drama, it is recommended that he read a classical play such as Moratin's El Sí de las Ni?as before reading Los Amantes de Teruel. In comparing the two plays he should bear in mind that, for the reason that they are both artistic masterpieces, they avoid the extremes of Classicism and Romanticism, and that they do not illustrate entirely the opposite characteristics of the less artistic examples of the two kinds of drama.]
#VII. Romanticism in Los Amantes de Teruel.# That the appeal is mainly to the emotions and imagination is quite evident. The plot is based on a legend that owes its chief interest to the unusual and even improbable ending; and the exceptional and improbable, if they are to be effectively treated in literature, must appeal to the imagination, must so stir the sentiments of the reader or hearer that the reasoning faculty may be kept from becoming too active. Not only is the dénouement itself improbable; the somewhat melodramatic figure of Zulima and the important part she plays in keeping apart the lovers until it is too late, would hardly be convincing if the main appeal of the play were to the intellect. These improbabilities are willingly ignored by the reader or spectator as he allows himself to be carried along in the current of passion to the final scene of deep emotion and