Miguel de Cervantes (1547 - 1616) was a Spanish novelist, playwright, and poet whose two-part novel Don Quixote is regarded as the first modern novel and one of the foundational works of Western literature. [1] Published in 1605 and 1615, the book satirized the romances of chivalry while giving prose fiction a new psychological depth. [2] Cervantes drew on a turbulent life that included soldiering at the Battle of Lepanto and five years of captivity in Algiers. [1]
Early life
Cervantes was born on 29 September 1547 in Alcalá de Henares, near Madrid, into the family of a barber-surgeon whose household moved frequently in search of work. [1] Little is documented about his formal schooling, though he is thought to have studied in Madrid, where the humanist Juan López de Hoyos published some of the young Cervantes's early verse in 1569. [2]
Soldier and captivity
In the early 1570s Cervantes served as a soldier in Spanish forces and fought at the naval Battle of Lepanto in 1571, where he was wounded and permanently lost the use of his left hand, earning the nickname el manco de Lepanto ("the one-handed man of Lepanto"). [1] While returning to Spain in 1575 he was captured by Barbary corsairs and held prisoner in Algiers for five years, attempting to escape several times before he was ransomed in 1580. [2]
Don Quixote and other works
Back in Spain, Cervantes struggled financially and worked as a purchasing agent and tax collector while pursuing writing. [1] He published the pastoral romance La Galatea in 1585, but lasting recognition came with the first part of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha in 1605. [2] The novel follows an aging gentleman who, maddened by chivalric tales, sets out as a knight-errant with his squire Sancho Panza; its blend of comedy, irony, and realism proved immensely popular. A second part appeared in 1615, prompted in part by an unauthorized sequel published under a pseudonym. [3]
Final years
In his last decade Cervantes remained prolific, issuing the Novelas ejemplares (1613), a collection of short fiction, and a volume of plays and comic interludes. [1] He completed the romance Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda shortly before his death in Madrid on 22 April 1616. [2]
Legacy
Cervantes is widely celebrated as the greatest writer in the Spanish language, which is sometimes called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). [1] Don Quixote has been translated into scores of languages and is frequently cited as the first modern novel and one of the most influential books ever written. [3]
