Miguel De Cervantes :: essays research papers

Miguel de CervantesMiguel de Cervantes Saavedra, born September 29, 1547, was a Spanish mythist,dramatist, and poet. Cervantes was the author of the novel Don Quixote, amasterpiece of world literature that was a large(p) influence to other renaissancewriters. Cervantes was born to a poor family in a town called Alcala de Henares.His father was a surgeon who made detailed money to support the family . Withoutthe means for much formal education, Cervantes became a soldier. On his returnto Spain he worked at a series of government jobs that manifold extensive travelin Andalucia. (Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia) . His career as a creation servantwas marked by as much misfortune as was his military career. Not till his lateryears did Cervantes find a patron. It was then that he had the time to devoteto his writing.Cervantes was a literary experimenter. In 1568, when Cervantes was astudent, a number of his poems appeared in a volume create in Madrid tocommemorate the death of the Span ish queen Elizabeth of Valois. In 1569 he wentto Rome, where in the following year he entered the service of aboriginal GiulioAcquaviva. Soon afterward Cervantes joined a Spanish regiment in Naples. Hefought in 1571 against the Turks in the naval battle in Lepanto, in which helost the use of his left hand. While returning to Spain in 1575, Cervantes wascaptured by Barbary pirates. He was taken to Algeria as a slave and held therefor ransom. (Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia). He did however make severalunsuccessful escape attempts, hardly he was finally ransomed in 1580 by his familyand friends. Returning to Spain at the age of 33, Cervantes, despite his wartimeservice and Algerian adventure, was unable to obtain purpose with a noblefamily. This was usually the gift presented to military veterans for theirdistinguished courage. deciding to become a writer, he turned out poems andplays at a prodigious rate between 1582 and 1585 (Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia).Few of these are still ex istent. His bucolic novel La Galatea (1585) gainedhim a reputation, but the proceeds from its sale were low to supporthim. Cervantes then took government jobs, first furnishing goods to the fleet ofthe Armada and later stash away taxes. The government imprisoned him severaltimes because he failed to give a satisfactory explanation of his tax-collectingactivities. While in prison Cervantes conceived the idea for a story about amadman who imagines himself a knight-errant performing the clarified featsdescribed in medieval tales of chivalry.