Miguel De Cervantes

"Cervantes" redirects here. For other uses, see Cervantes (disambiguation).
Miguel de Cervantes

Miguel de Cervantes
Born 29 September 1547 (assumed)
Alcalá de Henares, Castile
Died 22 April1616 (aged 68)
Madrid, Castile
Occupation Novelist, poet, playwright, soldier
Language Spanish
Nationality Spanish
Notable work(s) Don Quixote
Entremeses
Novelas Ejemplares
Influences[show]Influenced[show]
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Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra[b] (Spanish: [miˈɣel de θerˈβantes saaˈβeðɾa]; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616)[2] was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. Hismagnum opus, Don Quixote, considered to be the first modern European novel,[3] is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written.[4] His influence onthe Spanish language has been so great that the language is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes").[5] He was dubbed El Príncipe de los Ingenios ("The Prince of Wits").[6]In 1569, Cervantes moved to Rome, where he served as a valet to Giulio Acquaviva, a wealthy priest who was elevated to cardinal the next year. By then, Cervantes had enlisted as a soldier in a SpanishNavy infantry regiment and continued his military life until 1575, when he was captured by Algerian corsairs. After five years of slavery he was released on ransom from his captors by his parents andthe Trinitarians, a Catholic religious order. He subsequently returned to his family in Madrid.
In 1585, Cervantes published a pastoral novel named La Galatea. Because of financial problems,Cervantes worked as a purveyor for the Spanish Armada, and later as a tax collector. In 1597, discrepancies in his accounts of three years previous landed him in the Crown Jail of Seville. In 1605, he was inValladolid, just when the immediate success of the first part of his Don Quixote, published in Madrid, signaled his return to the literary world. In 1607, he settled in Madrid, where he lived and...