4.2 Cervantes & Don Quijote

The first modern novel

Miguel de Cervantes's 'Don Quijote de la Mancha' (1605/1615) follows an aging man who reads too many chivalric romances and sets out as a knight, mistaking windmills for giants.

Idealism vs. reality

Don Quijote's idealism clashes with the practical Sancho Panza, his squire. Their relationship — dreamer and realist — is one of literature's great pairings, full of humor and pathos.

Layers of fiction

Cervantes plays with narration, claiming the story comes from an Arab historian, Cide Hamete Benengeli — an early experiment in metaficción and unreliable sources.

Key terms

'Don Quijote de la Mancha'

Cervantes — often called the first modern novel

Don Quijote

the idealistic knight who fights windmills

Sancho Panza

his practical, earthy squire

Idealism vs. reality

the novel's central tension

Cide Hamete Benengeli

the fictional 'author' — an early metafiction

Try an AP-style question

Don Quijote goes mad from reading too many…

1. love poems
2. scientific books
3. chivalric romances
4. religious texts