Miguel De Cervantes
1547 - 1616
celebrated Spanish playwright and poet, whose Don Quixote is the most famous work in Spanish literature.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was born near Madrid, Spain. Little is known about his early life, although we know that he became an avid reader at a young age. He did not go to university, and, like his hero in Don Quixote, his life seems a product of fate. He fought at the battle of Lepanto -- at this battle, his left hand was maimed. He was later captured by pirates and sold as a slave to a Greek.
Despite early failures in his writing career, Don Quixote was a success. The work parodied the romances of chivalry, and is seen as a milestone in the development of the modern novel.
Essays
Don Quixote -- Context Essay -- Evaluates <I>Don Quixote</I> to the ideologies of its informing context.
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Don Quixote -- Genre Essay -- <I>Don Quixote</I>, one of the first novels ever written, was instrumental in the development of the modern novel.
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