Miguel de Cervantes - Classic Literature Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes is generally regarded as the most popular Spanish author. In fact, the Spanish language is often referred to as La lengua de Cervantes. Cervantes is best known for his work "El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha," which is considered to be the first modern novel.
Cervantes was born in 1547 at Alcala de Henares, to Rodrigo de Cervantes and Leonor de Cortinas. Cervantes was the fourth child in this family of minor noblemen. His father was a surgeon; it was not a well-paying profession in those days and Cervantes accompanied his father from town to town, as his father traveled in search of work.
Cervantes did his schooling in Madrid at the Estudio de la Villa from 1568 to 1569; his teacher was Juan López de Hoyos, who was a well-known humanist of that period. Ceravntes arrived in Rome in 1569. It is not very clear as to why he left Madrid, but it was probably to evade arrest on charges of having caused greivous bodily injury to a gentleman named Antonio de Sigura. In Rome, Cervantes served Cardinal Guilio Acquavita. Cervantes published some elegies during this period.
Cervantes enlisted with a Spanish regiment that was posted at Naples and in 1570 he saw action in the sea battle at Lepanto against the Turks. Although, Cervantes was on the winning side, he was wounded and he was unable to use his left hand. He earned the sobriquet "el manco de Lepanto," of which he was very proud.Cervantes spent some time in Sicily, recuperating from his war wounds.
Cervantes’ military job paid him well and he also had several letters of recommendation from important personalities of the period such as the Duke of Sessa. Cervantes left for Spain with his brother Rodrigo, on the ship El Sol, the ship was captured by barbary pirates. The pirate leader Dalí Mamí sold him to the bey Hassan Pasha in Algiers, who took Cervantes to be an important person on seeing his letters of recommendation.
Cervantes was held in captivity for five years till his impoverished family could raise the ransom of 500 gold ducats to free him. Cervantes was freed in 1580. The time he spent in prison provided him with material that he has used in his drama "Los bafios de Argel" and in the first part of "Don Quioxte." Cervantes settled in Toledo,on his return to Spain and married Catalina Vozmediano in 1584. The couple did not have a child and Cervantes separated from his wife in the latter part of the 1580’s.
Cervantes had a daughter from an affair he had with Ana de Villafranca, who was an actress. Cervantes was unable to get a fixed job inspite of the letters of recommendation he had. Upon his return from Algiers, Cervantes worked in an administrative capacity, but the job did not pay much. Subsequently, he worked briefly as a tax collector and also as a provisions supplier to the Spanish Armada.
Cervantes went to jail twice, in 1597 and 1602 as he ws unable to clear his debts. His impecunious status meant that he constantly had to be on the move. He lived in Seville for five years from 1596 to 1600. In 1606, he settled permanently in Madrid.
It was while he was in jail in Seville, in 1597, that Cervantes began writing Don Quixote. The first part was published in 1605. For "Don Quixote," Cervantes adopted a simple writing style that used the everyday language of that period. His style was well received by the people and although he gained international recognition as a writer, the publishing of "Don Quixote" did not make him rich. He published the second part in 1615 after another author Alonso Avellaneda published a sequel to the first part.
The first significant work by Cervantes was the "Galatea," which was published in 1588. It is a romantic novel. It did not receive favorable reviews. Although, Cervantes wanted to produce the sequel to it, he was never able to it. In fact, the book "Galatea" even finds a menton in "Don Quixote." Cervantes wrote several plays, thirty according to his own estimates, however only two are known to exist.
In 1613, Cervantes wrote "Novelas Ejemplares," which is a collection of prose. It has love, depiction of the lives of gypsies, etc as its themes. Cervantes was not a gifted poet and he was aware of the fact. Therefore, he concentrated more on writing short stories and plays. In 1614, he wrote "Viaje del Parnaso," which was a review of the poets of that period in allegorical verse.
"Don Quixote" is seen as being a spoof on chivalry. It is also considered to be an indictment of the Catholic chruch and the politics of that period. The central characters of the novel include Don Quixote the knight, his squire and friend Sancho Panza, and Don Quixote’s horse, Rosinante. The novel traces the adventures of Don Quixote, whose real name is Quijada. He sets out on his adventures when he is nearing fifty years of age. Through the course of the adventures, the tragi-comic novel explores human nature.
"Don Quixote" achieved international popularity in the lifetime of Cervantes, evidently even Shakespeare, who was his contemporary, had read it. The novel has also enriched language by giving it new idioms such as "Tilting at the windmills." Cervantes and Shakespeare both died within ten days of each other. However, in Spain, the noted playwright Lope de Vega wrote poor reviews of Cervante as an author. Noted writer Ford Maddox Ford opined that the novel actually did the medieval concept of chivalry disservice by satirizing it.
Cervantes died in Madrid on April 23, 1616. His last novel was "The exploits of Persiles and Sigismunda." He completed the manuscript three days prior to his death. He considered it to be a superior literary work than "Don Quixote." The novel was published one year after his death. The play "La Numancia" written by Cervantes remained unedited until the eighteenth century. It is considered to be his most famous play.
Cervantes has been an influence to generations of writers after him. These include Walter Scott, Charles Dickens, James Joyce, Jorge Luis Borges etc.
