How did the battle of Hernani reflect the conflict between French Romanticism and Classicism?

The "battle of Hernani" (1830) was a pivotal confrontation that symbolized the triumph of Romanticism over the rigid, outmoded conventions of Classicism in French theater.1

During the play's first performance at the Comédie-Française, supporters of Victor Hugo—including young writers and poets—engaged in a clamorous display of approval that overwhelmed the scorn of traditionalists who had gathered to disparage the work. This conflict reflected the broader aesthetic divide between the two movements:12

• Rejection of Rules: While Classicism emphasized order, balance, and adherence to strict formal rules, Romanticism championed individual freedom and the artist as a creator whose spirit transcends traditional procedures.34
• Dramatic Innovation: Hugo’s work sought to mix the sublime and the grotesque, moving away from the restrained, symmetrical nature of Classical drama toward a more expressive, dynamic, and emotional spectacle.53
• Thematic Shift: Hernani utilized historical local color and focused on the inner struggles of a tragic hero, contrasting with the Classical focus on universal, heroic ideals drawn from antiquity.534

Ultimately, the success of Hernani signaled the decline of Neoclassical dominance and the rise of a more distinctly literary Romantic movement in France.2