Saavedra Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) was a Spanish novelist, playwright, and poet, whose masterpiece, Don Quixote (in full El ingemoso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha) was published in 1605.

Short Biography:

In 1613, his Novelas Ejemplares (Exemplary Novels) appeared, followed by Viaje del Parnaso (The Voyage to Parnassus) in 1614. A spurious second part of Don Quixote prompted Cervantes to bring out his own authentic second part in 1615, considered by many to be superior to the first in construction and characterization.

Born at Alcala de Henares, he entered the army in Italy, and was wounded in the battie of Lepanto in 1571.

While on his way back to Spain in 1575, he was captured by Barbary pirates and was taken to Algiers, where he became a slave until ransomed 1580. Returning to Spain, he wrote several plays, and in 1585 his pastoral romance Galatea was printed. He was employed in Seville in 1587 provisioning the Armada.

While working as a tax collector, he was imprisoned more than once for deficiencies in his accounts. He sank into poverty, and little is known of him until 1605 when he published Don Quixote. It immediately achieved great success and was soon translated into English and French.

Why is Miguel de Cervantes famous?

Miguel de Cervantes was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright.

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Tags: novelist, poet, playwright

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Category: Writers  - ( Writers Archive)

Date Added: 30 November '11

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