Don+Quixote

__Don Quixote__:

The first half of __Don Quixote__ by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was written over a span of 25 years. The second half of the story took 15 years to complete. Students, stop and think about how arduous his revision process must have been. Recently, revising an essay was an assignment for this class. Imagine revising a book as long as Don Quixote!

Remember, according to most sources, Cervantes died on the same date as William Shakespeare (April 23, 1616), but **not** on the same day. At the time of their deaths, England was using the Julian calendar, and Spain was using the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, Cervantes actually died **TEN DAYS** before Shakespeare! However, it is important to remember the two were contemporaries.

Don Quixote is a parody of tales of chivalry. Remember a parody is a piece of literature that mocks the characteristics of another literary form for humorous effect. This can include exaggerations and extremely broad strokes, such as the way Quixote talks and his fight with the windmills.

Some students have asked how this is a parody. The reasons are evident when one refers back to the Arthurian Legends:

//﻿These things make it ﻿a ﻿parody! // Remember to keep the terms epic and epic hero in mind. Quixote is an epic hero. Also keep in mind the importance of the quest, which was explained through the lyrics of "The Impossible Dream" from the musical adaptation of __Don Quixote__, __Man of La Mancha__.
 * Chivalry:
 * A proper knight is young
 * A proper knight is strong
 * A knight's armor is sturdy and shiny
 * A knight's horse is strong and large
 * A squire is 14 to 15 years old and rides a horse
 * A knight slays dragons and saves maidens ||  ||< Parody:  * Quixote (Alonzo) is almost 50
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Quixote is skinny and frail
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Quixote's armor is rusty, mildew-covered, and broken
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Quixote's horse is skin and bones, sore-ridden, and has cracked hooves
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Sancho Panza is grown, married, chubby, and rides a donkey
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Quixote fights windmills that he thinks are giants during a time when knights no longer exist ||

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Pay special attention to the sequence with the windmills. One of your essay options come test time will be to compare and contrast the incident with the windmills in the text with the incident in the film version viewed in class.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Also, think about whether Quixote has noble intentions and ideals or if he is just a mad man. That is another essay option.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Below is a link to an audio recording of the story. To read along, select "Dedication of Part 1, Chapters 1-3" and fast forward to 2:00 minutes in to get the first section in the text. Then select "Chapters 6-8" and fast forward to 33:49 minutes in to get the episode with the windmills. It may be easiest to download the mp3s to a computer and play the files in Windows Media Player.

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