DON QUIXOTE
Name: Don Quijote
Don Quijote fully titled El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha ("The Ingenious
Hidalgo Don Quijote of La Mancha") is an early novel written by Spanish author
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Cervantes created a fictional origin for the story
based upon a manuscript by the invented Moorish historian, Cide Hamete Benengeli.
The work was published in two volumes: the first in 1605, and the second in 1614.
The protagonist, Alonso Quixano, is a country gentleman who has read so many
stories of chivalry that he descends into fantasy and becomes convinced he is a
knight errant. Together with his earthy squire Sancho Panza, the self-styled "Don
Quixote de la Mancha" sets out in search of adventure. The "lady" for whom
Quixote seeks to toil is Dulcinea del Toboso, an imaginary object crafted from a
neighbouring farmgirl (her real name is Aldonza Lorenzo) by the illusion-struck
"knight" to be the object of his courtly love. "Dulcinea" is totally unaware of
Quixote's feelings for her, nor does she actually appear in the novel.
Published in two volumes a decade apart, Don Quixote is the most influential
work of literature to emerge from the Spanish Golden Age and perhaps the entire
Spanish literary canon. As a founding work of modern Western literature, it
regularly appears at or near the top of lists of the greatest works of fiction
ever published[1] and is the best-selling non-religious, non-political work of
fiction of all time.
The novel's structure is in episodic form. It is a humorous novel in the
picaresco style of the late sixteenth century. The full title is indicative of
the tale's object, as ingenioso (Span.) means "to be quick with inventiveness".
Although the novel is farcical, the second half is serious and philosophical
about the theme of deception. Quixote has served as an important thematic source
not only in literature but in much of later art and music, inspiring works by
Pablo Picasso and Richard Strauss. The contrasts between the tall, thin, fancy-struck,
and idealistic Quixote and the fat, squat, world-weary Panza is a motif echoed
ever since the book’s publication, and Don Quixote's imaginings are the butt of
outrageous and cruel practical jokes in the novel. Even faithful and simple
Sancho is unintentionally forced to deceive him at certain points. The novel is
considered a satire of orthodoxy, truth, veracity, and even nationalism. In
going beyond mere storytelling to exploring the individualism of his characters,
Cervantes helped move beyond the narrow literary conventions of the chivalric
romance literature that he spoofed, which consists of straightforward retelling
of a series of acts that redound to the knightly virtues of the hero.
Farce makes use of punning and similar verbal playfulness. Character-naming in
Don Quixote makes ample figural use of contradiction, inversion, and irony, such
as the names Rocinante (a reversal) and Dulcinea (an allusion to illusion),
and the word quixote itself, possibly a pun on quijada (jaw) but certainly
cuixot (Catalan: thighs), a reference to a horse's rump.
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza Bronze Statues at the Cervantes Birth Place Museum
- Alcalá de Henares
The world of ordinary people, from shepherds to tavern-owners and inn-keepers,
which figures in Don Quixote, was groundbreaking. The character of Don Quixote
became so well-known in its time that the word quixotic was quickly calqued into
many languages. Characters such as Sancho Panza and Don Quixote’s steed,
Rocinante, are emblems of Western literary culture. The phrase "tilting at
windmills" to describe an act of futility similarly derives from an iconic scene
in the book.
Because of its widespread influence, Don Quixote also helped cement the modern
Spanish language. The opening sentence of the book created a classic Spanish
cliché with the phrase de cuyo nombre no quiero acordarme, "whose name I do not
want to remember."
En un lugar de la Mancha, de cuyo nombre no quiero acordarme, no ha mucho tiempo
que vivía un hidalgo de los de lanza en astillero, adarga antigua, rocín flaco y
galgo corredor.
"In a place at La Mancha, which name I do not want to remember, not very long
ago lived a noble, one of those nobles who keep a lance in the lance-rack, an
ancient shield, a skinny old horse, and a fast greyhound."
Name: Don Quijote
Don Quijote fully titled El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha ("The Ingenious
Hidalgo Don Quijote of La Mancha") is an early novel written by Spanish author
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Cervantes created a fictional origin for the story
based upon a manuscript by the invented Moorish historian, Cide Hamete Benengeli.
The work was published in two volumes: the first in 1605, and the second in 1614.
The protagonist, Alonso Quixano, is a country gentleman who has read so many
stories of chivalry that he descends into fantasy and becomes convinced he is a
knight errant. Together with his earthy squire Sancho Panza, the self-styled "Don
Quixote de la Mancha" sets out in search of adventure. The "lady" for whom
Quixote seeks to toil is Dulcinea del Toboso, an imaginary object crafted from a
neighbouring farmgirl (her real name is Aldonza Lorenzo) by the illusion-struck
"knight" to be the object of his courtly love. "Dulcinea" is totally unaware of
Quixote's feelings for her, nor does she actually appear in the novel.
Published in two volumes a decade apart, Don Quixote is the most influential
work of literature to emerge from the Spanish Golden Age and perhaps the entire
Spanish literary canon. As a founding work of modern Western literature, it
regularly appears at or near the top of lists of the greatest works of fiction
ever published[1] and is the best-selling non-religious, non-political work of
fiction of all time.
The novel's structure is in episodic form. It is a humorous novel in the
picaresco style of the late sixteenth century. The full title is indicative of
the tale's object, as ingenioso (Span.) means "to be quick with inventiveness".
Although the novel is farcical, the second half is serious and philosophical
about the theme of deception. Quixote has served as an important thematic source
not only in literature but in much of later art and music, inspiring works by
Pablo Picasso and Richard Strauss. The contrasts between the tall, thin, fancy-struck,
and idealistic Quixote and the fat, squat, world-weary Panza is a motif echoed
ever since the book’s publication, and Don Quixote's imaginings are the butt of
outrageous and cruel practical jokes in the novel. Even faithful and simple
Sancho is unintentionally forced to deceive him at certain points. The novel is
considered a satire of orthodoxy, truth, veracity, and even nationalism. In
going beyond mere storytelling to exploring the individualism of his characters,
Cervantes helped move beyond the narrow literary conventions of the chivalric
romance literature that he spoofed, which consists of straightforward retelling
of a series of acts that redound to the knightly virtues of the hero.
Farce makes use of punning and similar verbal playfulness. Character-naming in
Don Quixote makes ample figural use of contradiction, inversion, and irony, such
as the names Rocinante (a reversal) and Dulcinea (an allusion to illusion),
and the word quixote itself, possibly a pun on quijada (jaw) but certainly
cuixot (Catalan: thighs), a reference to a horse's rump.
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza Bronze Statues at the Cervantes Birth Place Museum
- Alcalá de Henares
The world of ordinary people, from shepherds to tavern-owners and inn-keepers,
which figures in Don Quixote, was groundbreaking. The character of Don Quixote
became so well-known in its time that the word quixotic was quickly calqued into
many languages. Characters such as Sancho Panza and Don Quixote’s steed,
Rocinante, are emblems of Western literary culture. The phrase "tilting at
windmills" to describe an act of futility similarly derives from an iconic scene
in the book.
Because of its widespread influence, Don Quixote also helped cement the modern
Spanish language. The opening sentence of the book created a classic Spanish
cliché with the phrase de cuyo nombre no quiero acordarme, "whose name I do not
want to remember."
En un lugar de la Mancha, de cuyo nombre no quiero acordarme, no ha mucho tiempo
que vivía un hidalgo de los de lanza en astillero, adarga antigua, rocín flaco y
galgo corredor.
"In a place at La Mancha, which name I do not want to remember, not very long
ago lived a noble, one of those nobles who keep a lance in the lance-rack, an
ancient shield, a skinny old horse, and a fast greyhound."