Cervantes

Don Quixote de la Mancha is one of the classic texts of Western literature, yet Cervantes remains an enigmatic figure. This Companion is a comprehensive treatment of Cervantes' life and work. Essays by outstanding Hispanistas cover the historical and political context of Cervantes' writing, his place in Renaissance culture, and the role of Don Quixote in the formation of the modern novel. The volume provides suggestions for further reading, a detailed chronology and a guide to electronic resources.

This casebook gathers a collection of ambitious essays about both parts of the novel (1605 and 1615) and also provides a general introduction and a bibliography. The essays range from Ramon Menendez Pidal's seminal study of how Cervantes dealt with chivalric literature to Erich Auerbachspolemical study of Don Quixote as essentially a comic book by studying its mixture of styles, and include Leo Spitzer's masterful probe into the essential ambiguity of the novel through minute linguistic analysis of Cervantes prose.

Cervantes is undoubtedly one of the world's most influential authors. While scholars continue to debate his role as the inventor of the novel, readers have found centuries of entertainment and inspiration in his works. Don Quixote contains one of the most memorable characters in all of literature and forever shaped the course of literary history and popular culture.

Volume II of the above.