Miguel de Cervantes

1
Miguel de Cervantes

• Spanish novelist, dramatist, and poet
• 1547-1616

2
Don Quixote

• Term quixotica person who is quixotic is in
  the grip of misguided idealism.
• Conflict between idealism and realism.
• Illusion vs. Reality

3
Don Quixote as Parody

• Began as a parody of romance stories popular in
  Cervantes time. Books of chivalry.Star crossed
  loversa knight and his fair lady.
• Parodya magnification of the characteristics of
  a particular style to the point at which its
  absurdity becomes unmistakable.
• Satire may be more appropriate term. Aims to
  expose an object or a person to ridicule and
  censure with implicit reference to a higher
  standard of conduct

4
Satire

• Genre of comedy directed at ridiculing human
  foibles and vices, such as vanity, hypocrisy,
  stupidity, and greed.
• Differs from pure comedy in that its aim is not
  simply to evoke laughter, but to expose and
  censure such faults, often with the aim of
  correcting them.
• (Hamilton, Sharon. Essential Literary Terms)

5
Types of satire

• Horatian satiretolerant and urbane, indulgently
  mocking faults with the aim of evoking wry
  amusement rather than repulsion or indignation in
  the audience.
• (Rape of the Lock, Don Juan, Adventures of
  Huckleberry Finn)
• (Hamilton, Sharon. Essential Literary Terms)

6
Types of satire

• Juvenalian satireharsh and censorious, bitterly
  condemning vices and foibles and inciting the
  audience to feelings of indignation and even
  disgust.
• (Puddnhead Wilson, A Modest Proposal
• (Hamilton, Sharon. Essential Literary Terms)

7
Don Quixote

• First novel.
• First to create fully developed characters.
• Lively dialogue.
• Hero who sets out to reinvent his own identity.
• Buddy genreDon Quixote and Sancho

8
Popularity of Don Quixote

• Novel becomes quite popular. Read and enjoyed by
  all ages.
• No royalty for works.
• Pirated copies distributed
• Other writers begin using DQ as a character.
• Cervantes writes second part of DQ, kills off
  main character.
• Even though Cervantes became popular and famous,
  he died in poverty in April 1616.

9
Magical Realism

• Reality is above all else a variable, and nobody
  is qualified to say that he or she knows exactly
  what it is. As a matter of fact, with a firm
  enough commitment, you can sometimes create a
  reality which did not exist before Margaret
  Halsey, U.S. novelist

10
Renaissance in Spain

• Cervantes was born at a time when Spain was
  richest, most powerful nation in Europe.
• Time of exploration.
• Charles I, king of Spain, was most powerful man
  in Europe. An inspiring kingknown for his
  bravery in battle

11
Life of Cervantes

• Son of a poor apothecary (barber).
• Part of hidalguia, noble class, yet dogged by
  poverty and bad luck. Father was thrown into
  prison for unpaid debts.
• Spent childhood in Spainspotty education.
• Fought with the Spanish-Venetian-Papal fleet
• Gulf of Lepanto, Cervantes is wounded in battle.
  Left hand is left useless for life (1571)

12
Life of Cervantes

• On his way home from war, he is captured by
  Turkish pirates and held in Algiers by pirates.
  (1575)
• Tried to escape, recaptured, and held in chains.
  Daring escapes.
• Finally ransomed by family in 1580. Familys
  wealth completely depleted.

13
Life of Cervantes

• Returns home, expecting heros welcome.
• Discovers Spanish people have forgotten about the
  war and its heroes.
• Cervantes had been writing poetry throughout most
  of his life.
• Two roads lead to wealth and glory, that of
  letters and that of arms.

14
Life of Cervantes

• Settles down to a literary career in order to
  support his family. Deeply in debt.
• Verse was uninspired his plays unsuccessful his
  pastoral romance mundane.
• Burdened by debt, he takes job as commissary for
  Spanish Armadacollecting grain to feed the army.

15
Life of Cervantes

• Worked as a tax collector.
• Banker to whom he had entrusted govt. funds went
  bankrupt and deficits were found in Cervantes
  accounts.
• He is jailed
• Writing Don Quixote at this time.
• First part appeared in 1605.