Miguel De Cervantes :: essays research papers

Miguel de CervantesMiguel de Cervantes Saavedra, born September 29, 1547, was a Spanish novelist,dramatist, and poet. Cervantes was the author of the novel Don Quixote, amasterpiece of world literature that was a great influence to other renaissancewriters. Cervantes was born to a poor family in a town called Alcala de Hen bes.His sire was a surgeon who made little money to support the family . Withoutthe means for frequently formal education, Cervantes became a soldier. On his returnto Spain he worked at a series of government jobs that involved extensive travelin Andalucia. (Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia) . His career as a public servantwas marked by as much misfortune as was his military career. Not till his afterwardsyears 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 published in Madrid tocommemorate the death of the S panish queen Elizabeth of Valois. In 1569 he wentto Rome, where in the following year he entered the service of Cardinal 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, but 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 employment with a noblefamily. This was usually the consecrate 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 stil l existent. His pastoral novel La Galatea (1585) gainedhim a reputation, but the proceeds from its sale were insufficient to supporthim. Cervantes then took government jobs, first furnishing goods to the fleet ofthe Armada and later collecting 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 splendid featsdescribed in medieval tales of chivalry.