Don Quixote

Originally titled El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha.

Part I published in 1605; Part II in 1615.

Translated to English in 1885 by John Ormsby (1829-1895).

~

The alpha and the omega of the novel form, the first true novel, the best-selling novel and in the eyes of most of the world, the greatest novel of all time. Cervantes uses the theme of the idealistic, insane knight and the devoted, down to earth squire to portray many complex themes through a plethora of unforgettable incidents, tragic and comic in a blend of great variety and colour. The book is unsurpassed as a masterpiece of droll humour, a scintillating portrait of 16th century Spanish society made all the more beautiful by the fantastic prose style. Cervantes started the novel in order to parody the many romances of chivalry which were circulating in those times and which the Church was unsuccessfully trying to check, but the hero got the better of him. The result is Don Quixote, and as the author says the Don is "so conspicous and void of difficulty that children may handle him, youths may read him, men may understand him and old men may celebrate him" ~Submitted by Anonymous

~

Fan of this book? Help us introduce it to others by writing a better introduction for it. It's quick and easy, click here.

Quizzes on Don Quixote
No quizzes available to take yet.

Please submit a quiz here.

Recent Forum Posts on Don Quixote

Don Quixote Allegorical of Spain?

I just finished Don Quixote yesterday, and I've been reading into the various interpretations of its meanings. One that I was considering, though I haven't really read up on it much, may be that Don Quixote himself is representative of the Spanish Empire in the decline of its power. With him fantastically chasing things that cause him more harm than good, and trying to flex his power with ill-result, only to die a disenfranchised death, I believe Quixote very closely represents an empire in decline. However, Spain's decline wasn't fully realized by this point, was it? If that's the case, could it be possible that Cervantes was predicting the fall of Spain from the status of super-power? I may be writing a paper based on this premise, so if anybody has any feedback about this theory, it would be greatly appreciated!

Posted By Boisjolie at Tue 22 Dec 2009, 4:56 PM in Don Quixote || 0 Replies

Who is the 'telling voice'?

As everybody already knows who reads this; Don Quijote is a very complex work. There is something I've been thinking about: who is the telling voice? Is it Cervantes or another person? As I understand it we can gather there is almost a 'poetic Cervantes', a bit like Dante uses for his Comedia, who is telling the story? But he in his turn has found the story through a third source, such as the Arab man who sells some pages to him? Then we also have Don Quijote himself at some points acting as Cervantes medium to convey the real Cervantes' voice, not the poetic Cervantes? Is this something you can agree upon?

Posted By Igraine at Thu 22 Oct 2009, 11:25 AM in Don Quixote || 0 Replies

Is there a recommended abridged version?

Although I recently listened to Edith Grossman's (unabridged) translation of Don Quixote, I was wondering if anyone out there has an abridged version they would recommend. This is one classic that hardly strikes me as essential to read in the unabridged version, although I highly enjoyed listening to it. (Well most of it - even Cervantes refers to a few superfluous chapters!)

Posted By Don Quixote Jr at Mon 13 Apr 2009, 12:15 AM in Don Quixote || 0 Replies

should i continue reading?

i've read upto part i, chapter 27 (roughly 200 pages). Ok, i see that the author created this character Don Quixote and tried to compare him to "the one" in the New Testament. But why are there so many long stories of some non-important random characters who come out so randomly to tell their own life stories (which, in my understanding, have nothing to do with what the author is trying to say in this book) that last at least a chapter each?? These ****ty life stories(or love stories) of random characters eventually made me to turn pages without reading, cause I didn't want to waste my time anymore. My question to you who have finished reading this book is whether it is really worth spending more time to finish the book? If the rest of the book will be just the same as first 27 chapters, without any significant turning point or proposition, then i better quit here...

Posted By wzmh at Sun 22 Feb 2009, 9:00 PM in Don Quixote || 10 Replies

Do you know if the book on this site is an abridged version

Because my daughter is needing it for school.

Posted By sdeannt at Tue 27 Jan 2009, 7:47 PM in Don Quixote || 0 Replies

Don Quixote

Has anyone here read Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes? If you have what did you think of the book? http://socialwrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/don-quixote-sancho-panza.jpg

Posted By Mr Hyde at Sun 28 Sep 2008, 1:48 PM in Don Quixote || 6 Replies

Best translation of Don Quixote?

I don't know why but I'd love to read the book I just have no clue how to read it :) Any recommendations for favorites?

Posted By SirJazzHands at Fri 16 May 2008, 11:08 AM in Don Quixote || 7 Replies

Don Quixote book

My old Don Quixote book (1885) has Don Quixotte on the cover and Don Quixote on the spine. It can't be a typo, can it? Does anyone know why it would be spelled two different ways? The book was published in New York. Thanks.

Posted By Vrck at Sat 19 Apr 2008, 12:29 AM in Don Quixote || 0 Replies

Qualifications to become a knighthood erant

I was wondering what the four qualifications to become a knighthood errant was that was stated in the movie? :idea:

Posted By shygirl 99 at Sun 2 Dec 2007, 9:36 AM in Don Quixote || 0 Replies

Don Quixote: poetry and lyrics rhyming in English translation?

Hi, I recently completed reading what I believe to be an English translation of Don Quixote (the original being written in Spanish, right?). One thing that nagged me about the text was that, if this was a translation from Spanish to English, why was it that so much of the poetry and lyrics rhymed, or read back as if they had been written in English from the start. I'm not familiar with Spanish, however I can't imagine that it just so happens that the English equivalent of Spanish words rhyme as well. Am I wrong? If I'm not, does that mean that the poetry and lyrics have not been translated word for word? Thanks in advance.

Posted By Scarface at Sun 18 Nov 2007, 3:27 PM in Don Quixote || 1 Reply

Post a New Comment/Question on Don Quixote

Don Quixote

Related Links:

Quizzes on Don Quixote

Recent Forum Posts on Don Quixote