Miguel de Cervantes | Brief Biography
Miguel de Cervantes | Brief Biography
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish writer who is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world’s preeminent novelists. He was born in Alcalá de Henares, Spain, in 1547 and died in Madrid in 1616.
Cervantes’ influence on the Spanish language has been so great that the language is often called la lengua de Cervantes (“the language of Cervantes”). He has also been dubbed El PrÃncipe de los Ingenios (“The Prince of Wits”).
Cervantes’ life was characterized by a series of financial difficulties and bouts of poverty, despite his successful literary career. He served as a soldier in the Battle of Lepanto (1571), where he was shot in the chest and lost the use of his left arm, an injury which would later inform much of his writing. He was also imprisoned several times, including a five-year stay in the notorious prison of Seville, where he began writing his masterpiece, Don Quixote.
Don Quixote is considered by many to be the first modern European novel and is regarded as one of the greatest works of fiction ever written. The book, which was published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, tells the story of a gentleman named Alonso Quixano who goes mad after reading too many books about chivalry and sets out to become a knight-errant. The novel pokes fun at the romanticized notion of chivalry and is widely regarded as a hilarious satire of the world in which it was written.
Cervantes‘ other major works include the collection of short stories, The Exemplary Novels (1613), and the play The Interludes (1615). He also wrote several shorter works, including the novella Rinconete y Cortadillo (1613) and the play El Trato de Argel (1615).
In addition to his literary accomplishments, Cervantes is also credited with popularizing the modern Spanish language. He introduced many new words and phrases into the language, and his writing style is considered to be a model of clear, direct, and straightforward prose. 0 0 0.
Sources:
The Oxford Handbook of Cervantes, edited by Antonio Hurtado (Oxford University Press, 2012)
Cervantes: A Biography, by William Byron (St. Martin’s Press, 1980)
Cervantes: The Critical Heritage, edited by J.D. Newton (Routledge, 1984)
The Life and Works of Miguel de Cervantes, by G.T. Sweeney (Twayne Publishers, 1990) ***
N.B. The article originally belongs to the book entitled ‘Biographies of Writers Around the World‘ by Menonim Menonimus.
Books of Biography by M. Menonimus:
- The World Writers-Brief Biographies
- Introduction to World Writers
- Introduction to World Personalities
- Love of Reputed Persons
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- Brief Biographies of Eminent Monarchs
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