The Enduring Legacy of Don Quixote

The Enduring Legacy of Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes served as a soldier in Spain before being captured and enslaved by pirates for five years. After he returned home, he found himself struggling to make a living and eventually landing in debtor's prison. In 1605, after 25 years of failures, Miguel de Cervantes found fame with Don Quixote. Written to parody both romances and romantic ideals, the book's inspired use of irony and realistic details changed the way novels were written. Today Don Quixote is one of the most widely published books in the world.

Vocabulary

• Resurrect: To bring back to life
• Fictitious: Created by the imagination
• Affable: Warm and friendly
• Burnish: To polish
• Incongruous: Incompatible, unsuitable
• Emnity: Hostility and ill will
• Hapless: Pitiful, unfortunate

What is Parody?

A parody is a comic imitation of another work or of a type of literature. A parody may include the same archetypes, or common features, of traditional romances, but it turns the reader's understanding of the archetypes inside out. This excerpt portrays a ridiculous hero on a hopeless quest.

Code of Chivalry

• Knights: swear allegiance to a lord / fight to uphold Christianity / seek to redress all wrongs / honor truth by word and deed / are faithful to one lady / act with bravery, courtesy, and modesty

Common Features of Medieval Romances

• Idealized noble characters
• Exaggerated behavior
• A hero's journey or quest
• Supernatural or magical elements
• Unusual or exotic settings

Comic Strategies the Writer Uses

• Verbal humor, such as exaggerated descriptions, puns, and irony
• Language that imitates the style of chivalric romance
• Absurd situations that parallel the actions of a chivalric hero