ROMANTICISM IN COLOMBIA: THEMES, CHARACTERISTICS AND AUTHORS - LITERATURE - 2025

The Romanticism in Colombia was a literary movement that took place during the nineteenth century. It was born thanks to the strong influence of French liberal ideals in Colombia and not because of the social needs of the country at that time, as it did in other Latin American countries.

Romanticism is a current that was born in Colombia in response to the traditions of the time. This movement promoted the emancipation of individuals, with the aim of strengthening the characteristics of people that seemed to be diluted in the increasingly overwhelming collectivization and social unification of the 19th century.

It is characterized by advocating the irrational, imaginative and subjective. It poses a full focus on the human being, the ideal, sublime and unattainable beauty, and nature.

The authors of Romanticism found in this movement a way to escape from the reality that surrounded them. Unconventional terrain was explored, where fantasy, emotion and the encounter with nature and history reigned.

Among the literary genres of Romanticism in Colombia you can find the novel, the theater, the poetry, the article, the legend and the essay.

The importance of the novel is highlighted, since the most important work of Colombian Romanticism was La María by Jorge Isaacs, written in 1897.

Romantic themes

Landscape

The landscape is one of the most important elements of Romanticism in Colombia. While in Europe the authors spoke of the return to the most natural life and its beauty, in Colombia the authors adapted the landscape to their emotions.

Nationalism

Romanticism in Colombia was in charge of exalting everything that was national and popular. The characters in the works were created taking into account fragments of Colombian folklore and cultural expressions.

Life and death

It is an existential dilemma or duality between the idea of ​​life and death. Man is an individual who suffers from a destiny beyond his control.

Social problems affect human beings, but beyond these is death, which can change everything.

characteristics

- Feeling predominates over reason.

- The past is perceived and remembered with nostalgia.

- That which is beautiful is true.

- There is a cult for genius and individuality.

- Emphasis on the search for freedom (emancipation) manifest in all fields of human development.

- Romantic and poetic language.

- Fantasy and far from reality.

- Idealistic and sometimes pessimistic.

Authors

Rafael Pombo (1833 - 1912)

Born in Bogotá, Pombo was one of the most important poets of the romantic movement not only in Colombia, but also in the rest of the continent. He wrote famous fables like The Poor Old Woman and The Walking Tadpole.

He belonged to the Creole aristocracy, being able to study various languages ​​and translate in an exemplary way some classical Greco-Latin literary works. He was a writer, translator, intellectual and diplomat, dedicated to literary work from the age of ten.

He lived 17 years in the United States as secretary of the Colombian Legation in New York. There he spent his years of greatest literary production.

In his work, God, nature and women are protagonists. She deals with vigor, rebellion and irony in much of her work.

His romantic production is inspired by the works of Victor Hugo, Lord Byron, Leopardi, Zorrilla, and classical Greco-Latin authors. She did multiple translations of English and French authors.

Julio Arboleda (1817 - 1862)

Born in Timbiquí, Arboleda belonged to the Cauca aristocracy. He was an important lawyer, poet, orator, military man, journalist, diplomat, politician, parliamentarian, statesman, and playwright.

In 1861, he was elected President of the Republic of Granada (today Panama and Colombia).

Defender of the ideals of the Colombian aristocratic class, Arboleda opposed the abolition of slavery and the transformation of the traditional political and religious principles of Colombia. Being a recognized military man, he participated in four civil wars between 1851 and 1862.

He was also a poet of Romanticism, recognized for the erotic and loving background in his work. Author also of political poetry. He is recognized in the literary field as a hero of Romanticism.

José Eusebio Caro (1817 - 1853)

Born in Ocaña, he is recognized for having written works such as Being with you, The poor man, Hector, and A tear of happiness.

He died after catching yellow fever during a trip to the United States in 1850.

He was a poet and writer who lived in the generation after Colombia's cry for independence. He belonged to the first stage of Colombian Romanticism and was one of the founders of the Colombian Conservative Party.

Despite failing to finish his law studies, he was a successful parliamentarian and the republic's finance administrator.

He founded several newspapers in which he collaborated as an editor. Essentially he was a lyrical poet of Romanticism, constantly restless and rectifying his ideology.

His poetic style was influenced by the classical Spanish, English, French and Italian. He was innovative in the use of metrics, being a predecessor of the later work of Rubén Darío.

Jorge Isaacs (1837 - 1895)

Born in Santiago de Cali, Isaacs is the author of the most important work of the romantic movement in Colombia: La María.

He was the son of an English Jew of Jamaican origin, married to the daughter of an officer in the Spanish Navy. His father was the owner of the “El Paraíso” farm, the space where La María is developed.

La María has been a work read during these more than 150 years without losing validity. Its spatio-temporal location occurs at the time when slavery in Colombia ended.

Allusion is made to slaves while talking about the story of two lovers (María and Efraín), these being two cousins.

History

First stream (1830 - 1860)

The first current of Romanticism in Colombia takes place at the same time as the periods of search for a more stable government (anarchy) and the liberation of the nation.

The authors of this first current come from the neoclassical movement, and mainly seek to affirm civic values ​​and exalt the homeland.

Second stream (1860 - 1880)

It takes place at the same time as the moment in which the organization of the national state takes place. Poetic works are cleaner, more refined, and less exalted. The aesthetic is more disinterested and impersonal.

However, literary production would be subject to variables related to the historical context and the different positions that individuals take in relation to social life.

References

1. Giraldo, ML (2012). The concept of romanticism in Colombian literary historiography (The Concept of Romanticism in Colombian Literary Historiography). Colombian Literature Studies.
2. Heath, D. (1999). Introducing Romanticism: A Graphic Guide. London: Icon Books.
3. Isaacs, J. (2016). Maria. Mexico DF: Selector.
4. Lorena, M. (May 1, 2012). Discovering Colombian Literature. Obtained from ROMANTICISMO COLOMBIANO: discoveringlaliteraturacolombiana.blogspot.com.
5. Paz, JR (June 5, 2013). UNIVERSAL LITERATURE CENTURY XVII TO XIX. Obtained from Romanticism in Colombia: jrengifo3.blogspot.com.