Memorable Quotations: Miguel de Cervantes

Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) was a Spanish novelist, dramatist, and poet, author of Don Quixote. In 1569 he went to Italy, where he studied literature and philosophy. His first published work was La Galatea (1585), a pastoral romance in prose and verse. Part I of his masterpiece, Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605), was an instant success. The muddled idealism of Don Quixote, a country gentleman who has read too many chivalric romances, and the unsophisticated avarice of his squire, Sancho Panza, thrust them into a series of escapades involving characters from every level of society. The appearance of a fake sequel impelled Cervantes to publish Part II in 1615. The work had an enduring influence on the development of the European novel.