Don Quixote: Analysis of Themes, Structure, and Narrative

Don Quixote: A Literary Analysis

Editions:

• 1st Edition: 1605, as The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Includes a foreword and 52 chapters in 4 parts.
• 2nd Edition: 1615, featuring knight Don Quixote. Includes a prologue and 74 chapters without division.

Sources: Besides the narrative models in the initial chapters, the work shows the influence of an anonymous 16th-century romance interlude.

Prologue: Cervantes' Intent

Cervantes states his initial intention to critique the poorly written and unbelievable novels of chivalry. He parodies the chivalric genre, making chivalric narration an essential ingredient of the book.

Structure of the Novel

The main action is organized into three parts: the first and second in the first half, and the third in the second half.

• Leaving the Village: Quixote leaves his house alone for the first time; later, his squire accompanies him.
• Adventure Series: Don Quixote faces challenges due to his distorted perception of reality, often resulting in blows and sticks.
• Return to the Village: The characters return to Don Quixote's village; the first two in harsh conditions, and the third to die.

Themes and Meaning

The work has different interpretations, ranging from satirical comic book to a novel about the conflict between real and ideal. It is also viewed as a realistic, perspectival, and burlesque work. Among the multiple issues, literature is one of the most important and is present in its different facets:

Review

The play contains critical judgments on literary works and theories.

Reading

The novel includes instances of characters reading literature.

Writing

Narration and Narrators

• Narrated Home: An account from a higher, external level of history. The narrator is omniscient and sometimes uses the first person to designate himself as directly responsible for the narration.
• Dummy Authors: The most important is the historian Cide Benengeli Hemet, author of the found manuscript. The original is translated from Moorish aljamiado.
• Narrated Characters: The characters have stories of various kinds in which they play different roles, sometimes as witnesses, other times as participants in the story told.

Types of Discourses and Languages

Don Quixote is characterized as a polyphonic novel, meaning a work in which there are many different speeches:

• Narrator: Comprised of the narrator's comments on the action and physical addresses.
• Of the Characters: Shown in the dialogues.
• Of the Character-Narrated: Introduces the different characters involved in the narrative who tell their stories.

The language used in many of Quixote's adventures is archaic and chivalrous in style, but also resorts to colloquial oratory. Sancho's speech is most striking for its sayings, using rhetorical language and worship.