DUQUE DE RIVAS: BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS - LITERATURE - 2025

Ángel Saavedra y Ramírez de Baquedano, Duke of Rivas (1791-1865), was a painter, playwright, poet and historian, as well as statesman, that is, he was linked to the legislative and executive powers of the Spain of his time.

His fame as a writer was framed within Romanticism, and was characterized by the recognition of individual personality and subjectivism. His most transcendental work in this literary trend was Don Álvaro or La Fuerza del Sino, which dates from 1835, the 19th century.

Duke of Rivas. Source: Gabriel Maureta Aracil

The Duke of Rivas stood out for writing mostly poetry and theater. Within the poetic work the sonnets stand out. The total of his literary work reaches an approximate of 40 writings. He was first a neoclassical author, and later moved to the romantic style.

Biography

The Duke of Rivas was born in the city of Córdoba, on March 10, 1791. He descended from a family linked to royalty. His father was Juan Martín Pérez de Saavedra y Ramírez, who had the title of Grandee of Spain. While his mother was Dominga Ramírez de Baquedano, who among other titles had that of Marquesa de Auñón.

Rivas was the second of two brothers. His brother Juan was the first heir. For his part, Ángel Saavedra, his first name, was assigned to military training. When he was six months old, he received the distinction of Knight of Justice of the Order of Malta.

Rivas childhood and youth

From an early age his education was entrusted to French teachers, who were priests exiled after the French Revolution. She learned military arts, literature, protocol, and etiquette, as well as politics. Belonging to a lineage of the nobility earned her several recognitions.

He was appointed Cavalry Captain of the Infante regiment, with only seven years of age. When he was nine years old, he received the habit of Santiago, from the religious and military order of the same name. His childhood passed between monarchs and castles.

In 1800, together with his family, he moved from Andalusia to Madrid, to avoid the spread of yellow fever. Two years after settling in the Spanish capital, his father died.

His brother Juan succeeded him as II Duke of Rivas, while the poet went to the Royal Seminary of the Nobles for four years.

Between battles, escapes and literature

Upon leaving the seminary he was part of the guard that fought in France together with Napoleon Bonaparte. It was at that time that he began to make friends with some writers, and began to relate to literature.

When the political conspiracy of the Prince of Asturias emerged, he wrote A la Declaration of Spain against the French, among other poems.

The Duke of Rivas kept fighting in several battles. In one of them he was wounded and left for dead. While he recovered, he wrote the romance poem Con Eleven Mortal Wounds. As Spain was subjected by France, still convalescing had to flee from Córdoba to Malaga, Gibraltar and Cádiz.

Signature of the Duke of Rivas. Source: Duque de Rivas, via Wikimedia Commons

After his recovery, he gave free rein to his writing talent. It is in Cádiz where he made his poems, it was in 1814 at that time. Ataúlfo was also from that time. It was in Seville where he successfully premiered, on July 8, 1816, his work Aliatar, and the following year Doña Blanca.

Within his military career, he participated in the coup of the politician and military Rafael del Riego Núñez. This led to the seizure of his property, and to be sentenced to death. He was able to flee to England, and for almost seven years he was exiled between Paris and Malta.

Last years and death

With the death of King Fernando VII he was able to return to Spain through amnesty (or political forgiveness). In 1834 his brother died, he received the title of duke and inherited the entire family heritage. He continued making political life and developing his literary works.

The Duke of Rivas served as minister in Spain, in addition to Naples and France he was ambassador and senator. He also stood out as director of the Academies of Languages ​​and Histories. He died at the age of 74 on June 22, 1865.

Plays

The stories of the Duke of Rivas are typical of Romanticism. They were characterized by love and doom, as well as by power and authority. At the same time, historical and chivalric elements complemented his work. The ideal of freedom was always present.

His work was also characterized because he mixed prose and verse. He combined tragedy with humor; and, in addition, he sought to idealize beauty. The duke put aside the units of time, space, and action to focus on the sensationalism of the scenes.

The protagonists of his writings had mysterious and dark origins. The author made them victims of fate. Some of the most important works of this Spanish writer and politician are described below:

Don Álvaro or the Force of Fate

To this day it is the most famous work of the Duke of Rivas. It is a theatrical piece that premiered in the city of Madrid on March 22, 1835. The author delved into topics such as love, honor, religion, revenge, as well as "fate", that is, the contrast of a aspect with respect to another.

The writer set the work in Seville, during the War of the Spanish Succession, in the 18th century. The protagonist Don Álvaro is characterized by being mysterious and lonely; he is in love with the young Leonor. However, the lady's father does not approve of the relationship, because in his opinion the young man does not have good qualities.

With the escape of the lovers, the story takes a turn. The Marquis de Calatrava catches them, and from then on the tragic events begin. It was written in prose and verses, developed in five acts.

Fragment:

"Don Álvaro: - My good, my God, my everything

What agitates and disturbs you in such a way?

Does it trouble your heart to see that your lover

is at this moment

more proud than the sun? Adored garment ”.

With Eleven Deadly Wounds

Monument to the Duke of Rivas. Source: Américo Toledano, from Wikimedia Commons

With this poem the Duke of Rivas narrated an episode in his life. He was inspired by the combat against the French in which he was seriously wounded, and for some time was presumed dead. He composed it while he was in the hospital. It is dated 1809.

Fragment:

"With eleven fatal wounds, shattered, the sword, the breathless knight

and lost the battle.

Stained with blood and dust, in a dark and cloudy night, in Ontígola defeated

and destroy my hope… ”.

Lanuza

It was a theatrical tragedy that unfolded in five acts. His argument was based on a strong critique of absolutism that was experienced in the author's time.

Lanuza, the main character representing justice, was sentenced to death for defending the rights of his countrymen. The Duke of Rivas wrote the work in 1822.

Fragment:

"Lanuza: - Do you think that when I die, all the good ones die too?… At once lead me,

(To the character of Vargas)

And you go out and see how I die.

And go tell your fierce monarch, so that it trembles in its proud canopy, that the brave do not end in me, nor will it be extinguished by dividing my neck, the generous lineage of hardworking

who yearn to give freedom to the soil ”.

The Disappointment of a Dream

It was another of the author's works that belonged to the theater genre. It was a fictional style drama developed in four styles, which the Duke of Rivas wrote in 1842.

Scholars of his writings claim that it is derived from magic comedies. In short: a story of sadness, disappointment and love.

It was made up of real and fantastic beings. Lisardo was the main character, and his participation was represented as an invisible voice, like the magical old Marcolán. There are more than twenty-eight characters that take part. It was set in the Mediterranean, during the fourteenth century.

Lisardo: Is it life, sad of me!

it's life, heavens! Perhaps

what life happened

with only my father here?

If damned I was born, and without any hope, to this island my cradle

my state, my only good

and my grave is also

I curse fortune ”.

The hercules

It was a play written in prose. The writer set it in Seville, and wrote it in 1838. It was characterized as a kind of nostalgic homage to the well-known Paseo La Alameda Vieja. The Duke of Rivas made a description of the place, which he captured through beauty. Mention is made of the statues of Julius Caesar and Hercules.

Fragment:

“Within the walls of Seville, and in the middle of one of its neighborhoods, three wide, long and parallel streets of gigantic and ancient trees, in front of which a stone seat runs on one side and the other, form the old, magnificent and almost forgotten walk that is called the Alameda Vieja…

The statue of Hercules; in another, that of Julius Caesar. The height and elegance of these columns, which time has stolen part of their robustness, unevenly skinning their surface and giving them more thinness and slenderness… ”.

Historical Romances

This poetic work dates from the year 1841. In it the writer made a review about the origin, the process of advance and at the same time the fall of this genre of poetry within the Castilian language. He found that romances enthusiastically expressed the power of thoughts and emotions.

Its publication was made in order of dates. It is important to note that in some of the poems he only chose characters that he found interesting.

The following fragment was dedicated to the noble Álvaro de Luna:

“It is mid-morning;

the fatal moment arrives

and Don Álvaro de Luna

without being disturbed he hears the signal…

He rides on his mule, that adorns black gualdrapa, and so gracefully he rides, which for battle or party… ”.

The Crucible of Loyalty

It was written in 1842. He developed it in three acts, and set it in the city of Zaragoza, in 1163. The characters are twenty-one; the main one is that of the Queen of Aragon. This work was a romantic drama where different tragedies are unleashed, until death.

Fragment:

“Don Pedro: (Act III, confused) - Madam, my lady!

What is my honor, judge, and what treacherous blood

my veins are full.

Queen: - It is your blood so pure

like the immortal fire

from the sun, which cannot be turned off

passing storm… "

La Morisca de Alajuar

It was a work of the genre of comedy that the Duke of Rivas wrote in 1841. He set it in the Spanish city of Valencia, between 1509 and 1610. The writer developed it in three acts or days. It has the participation of about nineteen characters. Love is present.

Fragment:

"Don Fernando: By giving me that name

these irons become garlands.

What does life matter to me

if I lose her in your arms, and put our souls together

from this unhappy world they take flight…?

Maria: You die? My Fernando!

Do you die? I shudder!

What crime is yours?… ”.

Other works

In addition to the works previously described, the following stand out within poetry: Al Faro de Malta (1824), Florinda (1826) and El moro exposito (1834). While the most representative sonnets are: A Dido Abandonada, Misero Leño, Safe Recipe and Good Advice.

On the theater side: As much as you have worth (1840), La morisca de trousseau (1841), The crucible of loyalty (1842), Disappointment in a dream (1842) and La Azucena Milagrosa (1847), are just some of his most representative works. Dante de Rivas stood out in each of the literary genres to which he dedicated himself for his ingenuity and particularity.

References

1. Duke of Rivas. (2018). Spain: Wikipedia. Recovered from: wikipedia.org
2. García, S. (S. f.). Biography of the Duke of Rivas. Spain: Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library. Recovered from: cervantesvirtual.com
3. Duke of Rivas. (2018). (N / a): Biographies and Lives. Recovered from: biografiasyvidas.com
4. Duke of Rivas (1791-1865). (S. f.). (N / a): Essayists. Recovered from: essayists.org
5. Saavedra, Ángel (Duke of Rivas). (2018). (N / a). Escritores.org. Recovered from: writers.org