Miguel De Cervantes Analysis

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Miguel de Cervantes was born on an unknown date in the ancient town of Alcalá de Henares, where he was baptized on October 9, 1547. He was the fourth child of physician Rodrigo de Cervantes and Leonor de Cortinas in a family of seven. Little is known about his earlier life, however, from Cervantes's own testimony he loved to read and enjoyed the productions of the famous dramatist Lope de Rueda. In 1569, Cervantes made his first appearance as a writer at the age of twenty, collaborating with the humanist scholar Juan López de Hoyos and contributing three poems to a volume in memory of the death of Queen Isabel de Valois. Shortly after his debut as a writer, Cervantes enlisted as a private in the army against Ottoman forces. He participated …show more content…

The years of poverty following his dismissal was spent writing his magnum opus Don Quixote. In 1603 he lived in Valladolid with his wife and five female relatives where he obtained the license for the publication of Don Quixote on September 26, 1604. The novel became an instant success, spreading first throughout the country, then throughout Europe. Despite his fame, Cervantes received little wealth to offset his financial difficulties. The appearance of a false sequel to Don Quixote under the pseudonym Alonso Fernandez de Avellanada convinced Cervantes to complete the second half of his master work, which was published in …show more content…

After the first English translation of part one of the novel in 1612, the novel became popular throughout Europe, and by the 18th century, Cervantes himself was regarded as a literary icon. As scholars and readers alike consider Don Quixote to be a literary classic, it continues to generate controversy and study, especially among South American writers. In a foreword to a translation of the novel, Carlos Fuentes tells readers "[T]he modern world begins when Don Quixote de la Mancha, in 1605, leaves his village, goes out into the world, and discovers that the world does not resemble what he has read about it." His words echo the sentiments of other critics and novelists, who agree that Don Quixote was the first truly modern novel in western literature. The use of realism in Don Quixote deconstructs the fantastic, whimsical nature of the earlier chivalric tales that were popular. In fact, many attribute the decline of those tales to Don Quixote itself, which faithfully delineated and depicted the lives of the lower classes. Don Quixote also tackles a theme which later novelists would favor in their works, one of the contrast between illusion and reality. However, despite a reputation as the harbinger of the modern novel, Don Quixote differs from the modern novel in many aspects. For instance, the comedic tone of Don Quixote contrasts with the majority of the works written in the style of the modern

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