Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra: Life, Captivity, and Poetic Works

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra: Life and Adventures (1547-1616)

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (Alcalá de Henares, 1547 - Madrid, 1616) was a prominent figure in Spanish literature. He was a disciple of the writer Juan López de Hoyos. In 1569, he moved to Italy, where he served Cardinal Giulio Acquaviva.

He joined the army and in 1571 participated in the pivotal Battle of Lepanto, where he was severely injured, losing the use of his left hand. This earned him the enduring nickname "El Manco de Lepanto" (The Cripple of Lepanto).

Upon his return to the Iberian Peninsula in 1575, he was captured by Barbary pirates off the coast of Catalonia. Cervantes and his brother were imprisoned in Algiers. His family could only afford the ransom for his brother, leaving Cervantes a prisoner for five years. He was held in the most rigorous jail in Algiers, known as "The Baths."

In 1580, Cervantes was finally released. Upon his return to Madrid, he attempted various jobs and applied for a position in the Indies, but his request was not granted. In 1584, he married Catalina de Salazar y Palacios. He later moved to Seville, where he held the post of Royal Commissioner of Supplies (a tax collector).

Cervantes faced imprisonment twice: first in 1592, in Córdoba, for selling wheat without authorization; the second time in 1597, in Seville, due to the bankruptcy of a bank where he had deposited all his proceeds. It was during this second stay in prison that Cervantes began writing his masterpiece, Don Quixote.

In 1604, Cervantes moved to Valladolid. There, he was imprisoned again in 1605, along with his entire family, under suspicion related to a fatal duel near his home.

Cervantes as a Poet: His Poetic Legacy

Cervantes's poetic work is generally classified into two main groups: one that follows the refined Renaissance models of poets like Garcilaso de la Vega and Fray Luis de León, and another comprising ballads and songs closer to traditional Spanish forms.

He wrote several sonnets and short compositions that appeared in the preliminary sections of other authors' works and in various songbooks. Most of Cervantes' poetic compositions are, in fact, integrated into his prose works, such as his pastoral novel La Galatea, which contains seventy interspersed poems.

His most extensive work in verse is Journey to Parnassus (1614). This is a long allegorical poem written in tercets (triplets), depicting a satirical naval battle between good and bad writers. It offers a very critical view of the literary figures and trends of his time.

Cervantes also wrote traditional and burlesque poems that appear in his renowned collection, Novelas ejemplares (Exemplary Novels).