Key Facts
full title · The Adventures of Don Quixote
author · Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
type of work · Novel
genre · Parody; comedy; romance; morality novel
language · Spanish
time and place written · Spain; late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries
date of first publication · The First Part, 1604;
the Second Part, 1614
narrator · Cervantes, who claims to be translating the earlier
work of Cide Hamete Benengeli, a Moor who supposedly chronicled
the true historical adventures of Don Quixote
point of view · Cervantes narrates most of the novel's action in the
third person, following Don Quixote's actions and only occasionally
entering into the thoughts of his characters. He switches into the
first person, however, whenever he discusses the novel itself or Benengeli's
original manuscript.
tone · Cervantes maintains an ironic distance from the characters
and events in the novel, discussing them at times with mock seriousness.
tense · Past, with some moments of present tense
setting (time) · 1614
setting (place) · Spain
protagonist · Don Quixote
major conflict · The First Part: Don Quixote sets out with Sancho Panza
on a life of chivalric adventures in a world no longer governed
by chivalric values; the priest attempts to bring Don Quixote home and
cure his madness. The Second Part: Don Quixote continues his adventures
with Sancho, and Sampson Carrasco and the priest conspire to bring
Don Quixote home by vanquishing him.
rising action · The First Part: Don Quixote wanders Spain and encounters many
strange adventures before the priest finds him doing penance in
the Sierra Morena. The Second Part: Don Quixote wanders Spain and
has many adventures, especially under the watch of a haughty Duke
and Duchess.
climax · The First Part: Don Quixote and the priest meet in
the Sierra Morena, and Dorothea begs for Don Quixote to help her
avenge her stolen kingdom. The Second Part: Sampson, disguised as
the Knight of the White Moon, defeats Don Quixote.
falling action · The First Part: the priest and the barber take Don
Quixote home in a cage, and Don Quixote resigns himself to the fact
that he is enchanted. The Second Part: Don Quixote returns home
after his defeat and resolves to give up knight-errantry.
themes · Perspective and narration; incompatible systems of
morality; the distinction between class and worth
motifs · Honor; romance; literature
symbols · Books and manuscripts; horses; inns
foreshadowing · Cervantes's declaration at the end of the First Part
that there will be a second part and that Don Quixote will die in
it, coupled with the niece's and the housekeeper's fear that Don
Quixote will run away again, hints at Don Quixote's fate in the
Second Part.
