Don Quixote Group at eNotes

Cervantes' "Don Quixote" is a very important picaresque novel originally...

Fri, 9 Oct 2009 04:49:27 PST

Cervantes' "Don Quixote" is a very important picaresque novel originally written in Spanish. It gained tremendous importance and popularity throught the world. This novel was instrumental in popularising the novelististic genre known as the picaresque novel. This novel led to the rise and developement of the picaresque novel in England and America. The important fact of the matter is that the picaresque novel continues to be written not only...

Don Quijote de La Mancha is a parody based on historical fiction and...

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 13:28:27 PST

Don Quijote de La Mancha is a parody based on historical fiction and stories of chivalry which are very inherent to the 16th century in both Spain and most of Europe. The mockery of historical fiction is evident in the elements of chivarly romance, the length of the story as an epic tale, and the main characters themselves which represent that era of Knights and Princesses all gone bizarrely astray.

Don Quixote is a satire. In Cervantes day there were lots of books about...

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 01:43:18 PST

Don Quixote is a satire. In Cervantes day there were lots of books about chivalry full of 'noble' tales of heroic wandering knights (Eg. King Arthur and the Kinghts of The Round Table). Many of these books were preposterously pompous and grandiose, (especially when compared to the fact that most real knights were not unswervingly honest, brave warriors for truth and justice, but were, in fact ignorant, violent warlords who aquired wealth...

Don Quixote de la Mancha is considered one of the masterpieces of world...

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 00:36:44 PST

Don Quixote de la Mancha is considered one of the masterpieces of world literature. The novel narrates the travels of an insane old man who, believing he is a knight-errant, leaves his village of La Mancha and searches for adventure on the highways and in the villages of seventeenth-century imperial Spain. While the two parts of the novel, published in 1605 and 1615, can be read as a unified whole, they differ considerably in style and...

"Don Quixote" is a Psychological Picaresque novel...and the other genres...

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 00:30:31 PST

"Don Quixote" is a Psychological Picaresque novel...and the other genres treated in this novel are Farce, Satire and Parody.

What kind of fiction is Cervantes' "Don Quixote"?

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 00:15:50 PST

What kind of fiction is Cervantes' "Don Quixote"?

-¿ Did Spain's Holy Inquisition Persecuted for any writing Miguel de...

Sat, 5 Sep 2009 14:22:49 PST

Religious and political persecution in England was quite different from the Spanish Holy Inquisition, but they were both powerful, cruel, and efficient to their respective Royal Houses: The Hapsburgs in Spain and the Stuarts in England.

- ¿ How was it possible for contemporaries W. S. and

M. de Cervantes, to avoid the rack or the Spanish shoes, or...

A story about Don Quixote

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 09:20:24 PST

I read Don Quixote as a part of my Bachelors in English literature degree. I wrote a story about Don Quixote, which is actually a parallel narrative.

As I cannot find too many people around me who have read the novel, I am posting here hoping that everyone who comes here will have read, or is interested in Don Quixote. I would really like to have your feedback on my story.

Please read my story here:...

Don Quixote, particularly in the first part of Don Quixote, changes...

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:24:49 PST

Don Quixote, particularly in the first part of Don Quixote, changes extraordinarily little in response to the actions and words of the characters with whom he comes into contact. Taking the content of the books of chivalry he devours as reflective of the world around him allows Don Quixote to interpret everything he encounters within the context of those books. Early on in the first book, Don Quixote realizes that in order for him to embark on...

The prologue to the second part of Don Quixote was written in 1615, a...

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:51:24 PST

The prologue to the second part of Don Quixote was written in 1615, a decade after the publication of the first part. Unlike the prologue to the first part, Cervantes, the speaker in the second prologue, assumes a more combative tone. Responding to the publication of a second Don Quixote, Cervantes dismisses the publication of the text itself, but he does briefly addresses the author’s comment that Cervantes was “old and one-handed.”...

In terms of how Don Quixote views the world, he exemplifies everything a...

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:10:48 PST

In terms of how Don Quixote views the world, he exemplifies everything a stereotypical knight should be. He upholds the tenets of chivalry -- courageous, honorable, loyal, and courteous – as fully as he possibly can. He must have a trusty steed and shining armor to serve as a reminder for everyone that he is a knight, a desire for acknowledgement often associated with knights. Fueled by his strict adherence to the chivalric tales on which he...

How does Don Quixote compare to the stereotypical knight?

Fri, 1 May 2009 14:13:11 PST

How does Don Quixote compare to the stereotypical knight?

How does the way that other characters view Don Quixote affect the way...

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 07:22:52 PST

How does the way that other characters view Don Quixote affect the way his character develops?

What is the importance to chapters XIII and XXII in the first book of...

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 08:29:34 PST

What is the importance to chapters XIII and XXII in the first book of the book Don Quixote?

In this very famous scene, which has been immortalized by phrases...

Sat, 7 Feb 2009 18:18:58 PST

In this very famous scene, which has been immortalized by phrases such as "tilting a windmills" and in art by Pablo Picasso, Don Quixote mistakes some windmills for giants and, in true knightly style, rushes at the windmills with his spear in hand. When he realizes he attacked a windmill, and not a giant, he blames a magician and says the magician turned the giants into windmills. This scene resonates with us because many of time people...

Why is the Windmill Scene (Chapter VIII) important/well-known?

Sat, 7 Feb 2009 16:18:36 PST

Why is the Windmill Scene (Chapter VIII) important/well-known?

What is the context in which the prologue before the second half of the...

Fri, 5 Sep 2008 09:31:38 PST

What is the context in which the prologue before the second half of the book is written?

It is difficult to say who Cervantes influences were because much of the...

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 21:12:30 PST

It is difficult to say who Cervantes influences were because much of the literature that influenced him was anonymous. He was probably familiar with many of the Medieval legends and tales including the Arthurian cycle, The Song of Roland, and others. There were some particularly Spanish cycles of tales including those of Sanchez Ramirez and his grandson, Romero the Monk who was the central figure of a story called the Bell of Huesca. ...

Satire is the use of irony or sarcasm to illuminate the flaws of humans...

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:41:14 PST

Satire is the use of irony or sarcasm to illuminate the flaws of humans and humanity. Don Quixote calls into question the whole idea of chivalry and the actions of knights in general. As Quixote travels the countryside fixing the wrongs of the world as a proper knight should, we see the error of believing what a perfect knight is. Certainly at the time Cervantes wrote his novel, there was an ideal for how a knight should look and act,...

Who was influenced Cervantes? Who were his contemporaries? Who was later...

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:44:47 PST

Who was influenced Cervantes? Who were his contemporaries? Who was later influenced by him?