Miguel De Cervantes Analysis

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

in the naval battle of Lepanto, Greece despite being ill, claiming that he would "rather die for his God and his King". He was wounded three times: twice in the chest and once in the left hand, an injury which disabled it for the rest of his life. After the naval victory of Lepanto, Cervantes convalesced in Messina for a year. He returned to the army and served three more years in the company of Don Lope de Figueroa. Cervantes felt ready to be promoted to captain, and was granted leave to return to Spain. Cervantes received letters of recommendation from Don John and the Duke de Sessa, and with his brother Rodrigo he sailed from Naples in September 1575.
On September 26, his ship was assaulted by Barbary Corsairs near Les Trois Maries. He, his brother, and the other passengers were taken as captives to Algiers, where Cervantes became the slave of a man named Dali Mami. As his letters of recommendation suggested that he was a man of importance, his ransom was posted at a high figure and he was closely watched. During this period, Cervantes made many attempts to escape, inspiring the other captives. When one of his escape attempts failed, he was brought to the Dey of Algiers, Hassan Pasha, who was struck by the unbreakable will and bravery of Cervantes and bought the man for himself. In 1577 his family sent ransom money through the Order of Mercy, but this money was insufficient to pay for his freedom. However, the money was instead used to free his brother, as suggested by Cervantes. Cervantes himself was eventually released on September 19, 1580, when his ransom was paid off by a combination of his parents' funds and money from the Christian traders of Algiers.
After his release, Cervantes returned to Spain, where he began to search for a rewarding position in the Iberian Peninsula and even considered applying to a post in the Indies. Around this time, Cervantes tried to support himself by writing for the stage, which would have guaranteed him an income if his plays became popular. His most serious work was the pastoral-prose Galatea (1585), which remained his favorite work for the rest of his life. On December 12, 1584, Cervantes married Doña Catalina de Palacios Salazar y Vozmediano, however, his wife's dowry merely brought him five vines, an orchard, furniture, a crucible, and some livestock. His marriage and the death of his father prompted him to suspend his writing for a time. Cervantes supplied oil and wheat to the Spanish Armada and acted as commissary to the galleys after its defeat.
In order to augment his income, Cervantes signed a contract to write six plays, each worth 50 ducats, on the condition that the plays would be "one of the best ever produced in Spain." Due to financial difficulties, Cervantes was thrown in jail and dismissed from public service.

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

1615.
The later years of Cervantes's life is marked by the creation of a tremendous volume of different works. In the decade between the two parts of his masterpiece, he wrote his Novelas Ejemplares, a compilation of twelve short stories. He also wrote the burlesque poem Viaje del Parnaso, a satire of contemporary literature. After the publication of the second part of Don Quixote Cervantes focused on writing an adventure novel known as Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda, which was dedicated to his friend, the Count of Lemos. He signed the novel on his deathbed on April 19, 1616, and passed away four days later on April 23. He died on the same day as William Shakespeare.
Miguel de Cervantes is known for other works of prose and poetry, but critics and readers alike are most familiar with The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote from La Mancha, usually shortened to Don Quixote. Don Quixote represents the apotheosis of Cervantes' literary career, and despite receiving neither wealth nor comfort from his it, the novel brought him fame and praise from all over Europe. Even though Cervantes did not receive any compensation or reward for his work during his life, he left a legacy behind as one of the greatest novelists of the Spanish language and a renowned literary icon. Cervantes had a tremendous impact on the development of modern fiction. Through Don Quixote, the novel represented the first extended prose narrative in European literature and which utilized modern realistic tradition, became a symbol of contemporary Spanish society, and is even considered to be one of the most important and influential books in the history of the novel. The novel had
Don Quixote is often praised as the world's first modern novel. Don Quixote is unique among other contemporary literary works for its narrative style, which combines elements of the earlier novella, such as those seen in the Decamaron, with elements of old ballads and legends. Its status as the model of prose style was canonized by Spain in the 19th century. In addition, "Don Quixote represents the first extended prose narrative in European literature in which characters and events are depicted in accord with modern realistic tradition, with the form of the work artfully constructed upon a complex of symbol and theme" ("Miguel de Cervantes." Authors and Artists for Young Adults). Part Two of Don Quixote, in which the protagonists meet characters who have read about them, is a parody of earlier works. The inclusion of readers into the novel itself gives a sense of self-awareness. Cervantes' message is
that art imitates life, and vice versa. Similar uses of metafiction would not be popularized until the rise of modernist literature in the 20th century.
Don Quixote has become one of the most regarded novels in western literature.

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

novel. Modern novels use realism as a form of suspension of belief, and in contrast, Don Quixote uses realism to underscore the nature of the novel as a confrontational parody. Additionally, the authors of modern novels attempt to present their works as plausible, in contrast, Cervantes warns readers not to trust the words of the text too much.