ROMANCE: ORIGIN, TYPES, RESOURCES AND WORKS - LITERATURE - 2025

The romance in the field of poetic creation, is defined as the result of the grouping, usually brief, of verses whose metric has eight syllables (octosyllabic). In these, the phonetic correspondence is fulfilled in the last vowel of each syllable (rhyme) of those verses whose order agrees with numbers multiples of two, while the rest can dispense with the rhythmic coincidence (they remain "free").

This type of literary composition aims, through the correct use of a series of resources, to decompose an event into its most substantial facts. This is done through a narrative that awakens the reader's feelings.

Felix Lope de Vega. Source:

In general terms, the composers of the romances sought to inform, to educate through striking stanzas. The thematic range to be developed in romances is wide, since it is possible to relate from significant events that occurred in a time of the past, to talk with the intention of transmitting the emotions of the writer.

In this style of poetry, the repeated writing of words or expressions predominates in order to create a dramatic atmosphere. The arrangement of words in the same order to achieve the required and desired musicality was key, as was the omission of an explanatory conclusion.

They also have an explanatory simplicity that facilitates their memorization. These are the most prominent specifications among others that are subject to the types of romances.

Origin

There are various theories that seek to explain the birth of romances. These constitute a dilemma that is based on the lack of certainty about which lyrical compositions of this type emerged first: oral or written.

The traditionalist theory

This shows that the genesis of romantic compositions dates back to the 1400s, when they emerged as an extraction of rhythmic oral narratives about the brave actions of the heroes of that time.

These narrations were shouted by the so-called "street artists" or "minstrels." These managed to expand them and penetrate in such a way in the inhabitants of the towns, that they made it common for the citizens to take and recite the most interesting paragraphs, or where the greatest amount of emotion was concentrated.

After repeating the fragments that were most pleasant for them, they were transmitted from one person to another, spreading at great speed.

In this way, little by little, the poemillas reached neighboring towns, and in the process acquired modifications by those who recited them, becoming works with personal touches and giving rise to the creation of new ones, but of the same kind.

The individualist theory

Those who defend this position allege that the first romances took shape from the pen of those cultists who decided to translate their knowledge into poems of collective interest, for later dissemination.

This theory coincides with the one raised above in that it also considers minstrels the means of communication available to poets of those times to be able to disseminate their works.

The neo-traditional theory

This represents the agreement between the two previous theories.

Its argument is that the origin of romantic creations is based on the separation of epic narratives in their most important parts by poets, and that it was the minstrels who were dedicated to spreading them.

The only difference that is worth noting is that the fragmentation of the poems is attributed to the street artists.

Other postures

Despite what these theories exhibit, there are those who say that the romantic genre existed as a written composition before being orally transmitted between settlers.

However, according to research, it is currently believed that it is in the 15th century when songs of romance go from being part of popular speech to being immortalized on paper.

Types

There are different ways in which it is possible to present a romance. The most common are listed below:

According to its origin

Depending on the way the romantic poem was created, it may take the form of old or new: old or new.

Old ballads

They constitute those poetic compositions developed between the years 1400 and 1499.

characteristics

- Fragmentation of a deed song.

- Anonymous.

- Its diffusion is through orality.

- Structure that does not conform to paragraphs of four lines.

New ballads

They are those made from the 1500s onwards.

characteristics

- New creation.

- Known author.

- Its propagation is written.

- They are arranged in quatrains.

According to your grammatical disposition

It refers to the way in which the narrated events are organized, the strophic structures that make up each romance. Among these we have:

Dramatic romance

It is the one whose story is broken down into different scenes where the characters interact.

characteristics

- It focuses on the most important moment or peak in history.

- It lacks a beginning and a conclusion.

Traditional romance

In them the events are presented with the usual structure of a narrative. They treat the diverse subjects of the daily life and enjoyed great acceptance among the inhabitants of the provinces.

characteristics

- The beginning and end of the events are described, they do not focus so much on the intermediate plot.

Repetitive romance

It is one in which words or sentences constantly repeated abound. Although their composition was extremely simple, due to the use of repetition they were the most learned and disseminated by the people.

characteristics

- Set of verses that is reproduced throughout the poem.

- It is repeated interspersed.

According to your subject

The compositions revolve around specific and well-differentiated themes. Between them we have:

Historical romance

It differs from the others in that it recounts events that marked a specific time due to the changes they generated. It is used as a reference by many students of history for touching points or situations that tend to escape the chroniclers of the time.

characteristics

- They narrate important events.

- It honors the legends or momentous events of a nation.

Sentimental romance

In this the writer is dedicated to letting feelings lead his imagination and, in turn, his hand. It is closely linked not only to reciprocated love, but also to the melancholy of rejection.

A large part of these compositions deal with the hopelessness and restlessness of denied love, of non-acceptance. These romantic compositions tended to be the most popular together with the moaxajas and their farewell jarchas.

characteristics

- Emotions are its foundation.

- They should not necessarily be about love, but rather the events are related from a subjective perspective.

Heroic romance

Their main function is to highlight the importance of the feats of the saviors who were part of a nation. These compositions enjoyed great popularity among the inhabitants of the different provinces, as they were considered pieces of great value for the protection of the exploits of the best men in each region.

characteristics

- Is particularized by relating acts of bravery.

- Its protagonists are the heroes of a nation or people.

Portrait of Miguel de Unamuno. Source:

Means

In the context of the Castilian language, they are those literary riches that when used help the writing to achieve its communicative or sensitizing purposes. In the case of romances, there are two types that are used in their creation and they are the ones that are exposed below:

Structural resources

They are those that intervene in certain parts of the romance with a modifying purpose regarding the perception of the writing. They contribute to the position in context of what is described therein. They are explained below:

Setting

They are those figurative scenarios that surround the events that make up the narrative, and that are usually natural landscapes. This aspect varies according to the author on duty.

It is like the fingerprint of the poet. Depending on the literary preparation of this, it is the descriptive quality and the contribution.

This resource also includes the time or date in which the event (s) is located. It is worth noting that the setting has served as a historical reference for many scholars to corroborate the veracity of certain events that took place in those times.

Principle of action

This type of composition is characterized by starting to relate the activity of some of the characters that are part of it.

They focus on describing the actions of the protagonists and how they affect the rest of those present, generating new events, and complicating the poetic plot until the end.

Textual resources

The most abundant in romantic poems are the following:

Phonetic reiteration

Also called alliteration, it corresponds to the repetition of the same sound (a letter or syllable), in order to create auditory pleasant melodies. In addition to the above, they increase the degree of expressiveness.

This particular resource is one of the richest because it allowed a greater memory fixation of the poemillas in the settlers, thanks to its rhythmic properties. Being the people the real one in charge of the propagation and popularization of romances, it gives more weight to the use of phonetic reiteration.

Structural repetition

It alludes to the repeated appearance of the same grammatical model or organization with a rhythmic objective.

This resource goes hand in hand with phonetic reiteration, it also plays a fundamental role in the memory process. The duplication of strophic structures with words and phrases of easy assimilation contributed to the diffusion of many of the most famous romances.

Sensitive representations

Through these, the exaltation of the five senses is pursued in the narration: smell, sight, touch, hearing and taste.

The enhancement of these qualities makes literary creation much more experiential. Whoever narrates, sings or repeats the compositions not only repeats words at random, but is also generating a memory process at the brain level that involves all the receptors that give reason for its existence.

It is a catalyst that adds much greater intensity to the cognitive pedagogical-andragogical fact that in itself implies the creation of these poetic compositions.

Repetition of words

It is about that repeated writing of visually close words that is done to highlight some important aspect within the romantic plot.

The greater the number of identical or similar words in terms of sounds, the greater the retention of the poems in the minds of the listeners. It is a very simple and functional resource, not only present in this poetic form, but in the vast majority of lyrical manifestations of the time.

Similes

They deal with the use of comparisons, or manifestations of similarity or difference between people, animals or things.

Work «General Ballads». Source:

The greater the number of associations between the elements that make up structures, beings or things, the easier it is to memorize poems. People learn more simply with association, neural links emerge more efficiently and effectively.

Outstanding works

When the first written romances began to be published, several well-known authors and other anonymous ones also emerged who also undertook their development in this genre. Below are some poems of this style that are preserved today.

Romance of love more powerful than death

(Anonymous author)

“Count Niño por amores

is a boy and went to sea;

He is going to give his horse water on

the morning of San Juan.

While the horse drinks

he sings sweet sing;

all the birds in the sky

stopped to listen, a

walker who walks

forgets his walk, a

navigator who sails

the ship returns there.

The queen was working,

the daughter is sleeping:

-Rise up, Albaniña,

from your sweet folgar,

you will feel

the little mermaid of the sea sing beautifully.

-It is not the little mermaid, mother,

the one with such a beautiful song,

but it is the Count Child

who wants to finish for me.

Who could help him

in his sad sorrow!

-If for your love

sorrows, oh, bad luck their singing!

and because he never enjoys them,

I'll have him killed.

-If he orders him to kill, mother,

they will bury us together.

He died at midnight,

she to the roosters crow;

they

bury her as the daughter of kings on the altar,

he as the son of counts a

few steps behind.

From her grew a white rose bush,

from him a hawthorn was born;

the one grows, the other grows,

the two will come together;

the twigs that are reached

strong hugs are given,

those that were not reached

do not stop sighing.

The queen, full of envy, had

both cut them off;

the gallant who cut them would

not stop crying.

From her was born a heron,

from him a strong hawk,

together they fly through the sky,

together they fly pair by pair,

and the hawk said to the heron: -They will

never kill us again.

The two kept flying,

the two together couple by pair,

and they promised forever,

that they will never be separated again,

and that those hugs,

which were never given, will

always be given again ”.

Romance of the Duero

(Gerardo Diego)

“Duero River, Duero River,

no one to accompany you down, no one stops to hear your eternal stanza of water. Indifferent or cowardly, the city turns its back. He doesn't want to see his toothless wall in your mirror. You, old Duero, smile between your silver beards, grinding badly achieved crops with your romances. And among the stone saints and the magic poplars you pass carrying in your waves words of love, words. Who could like you, at the same time still and moving, always sing the same verse, but with different water. Duero River, Duero River,

Nobody to be with you comes down,

and nobody wants to attend your eternal forgotten stanza, but the lovers who ask for their souls and sow in your foam words of love, words ”.

Fragment of

(Lope de Vega)

"To start the journey

of this city, which already has

name of Ciudad Real, joined the gallant master

two thousand lucid infants

of his valiant vassals, and three hundred on horseback

of laymen and friars… ”.

Romance of Count Arnaldos

(Anonymous)

"Who would have such a fortune

on the waters of the sea,

as there was Count Arnaldos on

the morning of San Juan

going to look for the game

for his falcon to bait, he

saw a galley coming

that wants to reach land

the candles bring silk

rigging of gold twine

anchors has silver

tables of fine coral

sailor that the guide

saying comes a song

that the sea calms

the winds calm down

the birds that are flying

to the mast come to pose

the fish that walk to the bottom

up makes them walk.

The infant Arnaldos spoke there.

Well, you will hear what he will say

"For your life the sailor

tell me that song now."

The sailor replied,

such an answer was to give him

"I don't say my song

but to whoever goes with me."

Fragment that was extracted from the book

(Miguel de Unamuno)

“When the dawn wakes me up

the memories of other dawns

are reborn in my chest

those that were hopes.

I want to forget the misery

that brings you down, poor Spain,

the fatal begging

of the desert of your home.

For a moldy crust you

sell, brothers, the entrails

of blood cooked in a siesta

that serves as your soul.

"You have to live", chorus

of the most holy desire,

your bitch dream life

in yawn always ends.

"Tomorrow will be another day"

and the future passes you by,

nor does death come to you

because you have not experienced anything

When

freedom comes upon you "God help me!" (…) ”.

References

1. Harlan, C. (2018). Romance. (n / a): About Spanish. Recovered from: aboutespanol.com
2. (2018). (n / a): Wikipedia. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org/wiki
3. Mero, M. (2015). The love. (n / a): The old romance. Recovered from: blogspot.com
4. Examples of Romance. (2018). (n / a): Rhetorics. Recovered from: rhetoricas.com
5. The Spanish Romancero (s.). (n / a): Castilian corner. Recovered from: rinconcastellano.com.