What defines Romanticism in Drama?
Plays of the Romantic period usually appealed to the emotions rather than the intellect or previous classical themes. They often used mysterious characters or supernatural settings complete with special effects to draw the audience to become part of the narrative. Actors emphasised emotions and high passion and many were melodramatic in tone with heroes and heroines that ordinary people could relate to. Many were sensational, even stunning at their first audiences such as Friedrich Schiller’s “Die Räuber” (The Robbers) in 1781.
People in this field include:
Manuel Antônio Álvares de Azevedo: (1831-1852) Brazilian Romantic poet, short story writer, playwright and essayist. See the Azevedo page here.
Castro Alves: (1847-1871) Greatest Brazilian Romantic poet and playwright. See the Alves page here.
Hans Christian Andersen: (1805-1875) Danish poet, novelist and author of fairy tales and travelogues. See the Andersen page here.
Joanna Baillie: (1762-1851) Scottish poet and verse dramatist. See the Baillie page here.
Gustavo Adolfo Becquer: (1836-1870) Spanish poet, playwright and literary columnist. See the Becquer page here.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge: (1772-1834) English poet, philosopher, literary critic and theologian. See the Coleridge page here.
Alexandre Dumas: (1802-1870) (also known as Alexandre Dumas père) French novelist and playwright. See the Dumas page here.
Joseph von Eichendorff: (1788-1857) German poet, novelist, playwright, anthologist, critic and translator. See the Eichendorff page here.
Aleksander Fredro: (1793-1876) Romantic Polish poet, playwright and author. See the Fredro page here.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: (1749-1832) German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director and critic. See the Goethe page here.
Nikili Gogol: (1809-1852) Russian novelist, short story writer and playwright of Ukrainian origin. See the Gogol page here.
Almeida Garrett: (1799-1854) Portuguese poet, playwright, journalist and politician. See the Garrett page here.
Felicia Dorothea Hemans (1793-1835) English/Welsh poet and playwright. See the Hemans page here.
Francisco de Sales Torres Homem: (1812-1876) was a Brazilian physician, lawyer, journalist and Romantic writer. See the Homem page here.
Victor-Marie Hugo: (1802-1885) French poet, playwright, novelist and statesman. See the Hugo page here.
Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist: (1777-1811) German poet, dramatist, novelist and journalist. See the Kleist page here.
Lazar Kostić: (1841-1910) Serbian poet, dramatist, lawyer, journalist and politician. See the Kostic page here.
Joaquim Manuel de Macedo: (1820-1882) First Brazilian novelist and a doctor, poet, playwright and journalist. See the Macedo page here.
Goncalves de Magalhaes: (1811-1882) Brazilian poet, playwright, physician and diplomat. See the Magalhaes page here.
Adam Mickiewicz: (1798-1855) Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, translator and political activist. See the Mickiewicz page here.
Jose Zorrilla y Moral: (1817-1893) Spanish Nationalist poet and playwright. See the Moral page here.
Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué: (1777-1843) German novelist and playwright. See the Fouque page here.
Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay: (1810-1857) French dramatist, poet, and novelist. See the Musset-Pathay page here.
Cyprian Kamil Norwid: (1821-1883) Polish poet, dramatist, painter, and sculptor. See the Norwid page here.
Adam Oehlenschlager: (1779-1850) Danish poet and playwright who introduced Romanticism to Denmark. See the Oehlenschlager page here.
Manuel de Araújo Porto-Alegre: (1806-1879) Brazilian poet, playwright, painter and cartoonist. See the Porto-Alegre page here.
Alexander Pushkin: (1799-1837) Russian poet, playwright and novelist. See the Pushkin page here.
Girolamo de Rada: (1814-1903) Albanian playwright, poet and journalist. See the de Rada page here.
Mary Robinson: (née Darby; 1757-1800) English poet, dramatist, actor and novelist. See the Robinson page here.
Walter Scott: (1771-1832) Scottish historian, novelist, poet, and playwright. See the Scott page here.