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Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra,
(1547–1616)
 Little
is known of Cervantes's youth. He went to Italy (1569), where,
in the service of a cardinal, he studied Italian literature and
philosophy, which were later to influence his work. In 1570 he
enlisted in the army and fought in the naval battle of Lepanto
(1571), receiving a wound that permanently crippled his left
arm. While returning to Spain in 1575 he was captured by Barbary
pirates and was sold as a slave; he eventually became the
property of the viceroy of Algiers. After many attempted
escapes, he was ransomed in 1580, at a cost that brought
financial ruin to himself and to his family. As a government
purchasing agent in Seville (1588–97), Cervantes proved less
than successful; his unbusinesslike methods resulted in
deficits, and he was imprisoned several times.
His first published work was an
effusive pastoral romance in prose and verse, La Galatea
(1585). Between 1582 and 1587 he wrote more than 20 plays, only
two of which survive. He was 58 when Part I of his masterpiece,
Don Quixote (1605; Part II, 1615), was published. As a
superb burlesque of the popular romances of chivalry, Don
Quixote was an enormous and immediate success. A spurious
Part II was published in 1614, probably spurring Cervantes to
complete the work.
Don Quixote
is considered a profound delineation of two conflicting
attitudes toward the world: idealism and realism. The work has
been appreciated as a satire on unrealistic extremism, an
exposition of the tragedy of idealism in a corrupt world, and a
plea for widespread reform. Whatever its intended emphasis, the
work presented to the world an unforgettable description of the
transforming power of illusion, and it has had an indelible
effect on the development of the European novel.
Don Quixote is a
country gentleman who has read too many chivalric romances. He
and the peasant Sancho Panza, who serves as his squire, set
forth on a series of extravagant adventures. The whole fabric of
16th-century Spanish society is detailed with piercing yet
sympathetic insight. The addled idealism of Don Quixote and the
earthy acquisitiveness of Sancho serve as catalysts for numerous
humorous and pathetic exploits and incidents. Its panorama of
characters, the excellence of its tales, and its vivid portrayal
of human nature contribute to the enduring influence of Don
Quixote.
In later years
Cervantes wrote other works of fiction, including Novelas
ejemplares (1613), 12 original tales of piracy, Gypsies, and
human passions, drawn from his own experience and molded by his
mature craftsmanship. Some of these stories in themselves prove
him to be one of the world's great literary masters.
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