Editing Miguel de Cervantes (section)

==Literary career and legacy==
[[File:Don Quijote Illustration by Gustave Dore VII.jpg|thumb|upright|The windmill scene from ''Don Quijote'', by [[Gustave Doré]]]]
Cervantes claimed to have written over 20 plays, such as ''El trato de Argel'', based on his experiences in captivity. Such works were extremely short-lived, and even [[Lope de Vega]], the best-known playwright of the day, could not live on their proceeds.{{sfn|McCrory|2006|p=112}} In 1585, he published ''La Galatea'', a conventional [[pastoral]] romance that received little contemporary notice; despite promising to write a sequel, he never did so.{{sfn|McCrory|2006|pp=110–111}}

Aside from these, and some poems, by 1605, Cervantes had not been published for 20 years. In ''Don Quixote'', he challenged a form of literature that had been a favourite for more than a century, explicitly stating his purpose was to undermine 'vain and empty' [[chivalric romance]]s.{{sfn|Close|2008|p=39}} His portrayal of real life, and use of everyday speech in a literary context was considered innovative, and proved instantly popular. First published in January 1605, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza featured in masquerades held to celebrate the birth of [[Philip IV of Spain|Philip IV]] on 8 April.{{sfn|McCrory|2006|p=206}}
[[File:Don Quijote illustrated by Gustav Dore V.jpg|thumb|upright|right|An illustration from ''Don Quijote'', by [[Gustave Doré|Doré]]]]
He finally achieved a degree of financial security, while its popularity led to demands for a sequel. In the foreword to his 1613 work, ''Novelas ejemplares'', dedicated to his patron, the Count of Lemos, Cervantes promises to produce one, but was pre-empted by an unauthorised version published in 1614, published under the name [[Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda]]. It is possible this delay was deliberate, to ensure support from his publisher and reading public; Cervantes finally produced the second part of ''Don Quixote'' in 1615.{{sfn|McCrory|2006|pp=234–235}}

The two parts of ''Don Quixote'' are different in focus, but similar in their clarity of prose and their realism. The first was more comic, and had greater popular appeal.{{sfn|Mitsuo|Cullen|2006|pp=148–152}} The second part is often considered more sophisticated and complex, with a greater depth of characterisation and philosophical insight.{{sfn|Putnam|1976|p=14}}

In addition to this, he produced a series of works between 1613 and his death in 1616. They include a collection of tales titled ''Exemplary Novels''. This was followed by ''[[Viaje del Parnaso]]'', ''Eight Comedies and Eight New Interludes'', and ''[[Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda]]'', completed just before his death, and published posthumously in January 1617.

Cervantes also possessed a unique writing style, often blending elements of comedic themes to more complex adult-oriented undertones, best displayed by Don Quixote. 

"In the space of a few pages, what started as an exercise in comic ridicule and, as the narrator insists on several occasions, a satirical send-up of the tales of chivalry, has taken on an entirely different dimension; it has begun to transform itself into the story of a relationship between two characters whose incompatible takes on the world are bridged by friendship, loyalty, and eventually love."<ref>{{Cite web |author=Bret McCabe |date=2016-09-29 |title=The remarkable life of Miguel de Cervantes and how it shaped his timeless tale, 'Don Quixote' |url=https://hub.jhu.edu/2016/09/29/egginton-cervantes-29sept2016/ |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=The Hub |language=en}}</ref>

Cervantes was rediscovered by English writers in the mid-18th century. The literary editor [[John Bowle (writer)|John Bowle]] argued that Cervantes was as significant as any of the Greek and Roman authors then popular, and published an annotated edition in 1781. Now viewed as a significant work, at the time it proved a failure.{{sfn|Truman|2003|pp=9–31}} However, ''Don Quixote'' has been translated into all major languages, in 700 editions. Mexican author [[Carlos Fuentes]] suggested that Cervantes and his contemporary [[William Shakespeare]] form part of a narrative tradition that includes [[Homer]], [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]], [[Daniel Defoe|Defoe]], [[Charles Dickens|Dickens]], [[Honoré de Balzac|Balzac]], and [[James Joyce|Joyce]].{{sfn|Fuentes|1988|p=69–70}}

[[Sigmund Freud]] claimed he learnt Spanish to read Cervantes in the original; he particularly admired ''[[The Dialogue of the Dogs]]'' (''El coloquio de los perros''), from ''Exemplary Tales'', in which two dogs, Cipión and Berganza, share their stories; as one talks, the other listens, occasionally making comments. From 1871 to 1881, Freud and his close friend Eduard Silberstein wrote letters to each other, using the pen names Cipión and Berganza.{{sfn|Riley|1994|pp=13–14}}

In 1905, the tricentennial of the publication of ''Don Quixote'' was marked with celebrations in Spain;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Leerssen |first1=J. |last2=Rigney |first2=A. |title=Commemorating Writers in Nineteenth-Century Europe: Nation-Building and Centenary Fever |year=2014 |url={{GBurl|IElvBAAAQBAJ|pg=PT207}} |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-137-41214-0 |page=207}}</ref> the 400th anniversary of his death in 2016, saw the production of ''Cervantina'', a celebration of his plays by the Compañía Nacional de Teatro Clásico in Madrid.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.centroculturalmva.es/6871/com1_fb-0/com1_md3_cd-13713/cervantina-compania-nacional-teatro-clasico-lala |title=Cervantina de Compañía Nacional de Teatro Clásico y Ron Lalá |date=19 April 2020 |website=www.centroculturalmva.es |language=es |access-date=19 April 2020}}</ref> ''[[Man of La Mancha]]'', the 1965 musical, was loosely based on Cervantes' life.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/cervante/csa/artics99/wasserma.htm |title=Don Quixote as Theatre, Cervantes |journal=Journal of the Cervantes Society of America |volume=19 |issue=1 |year=1999 |pages=125–130 |doi=10.3138/Cervantes.19.1.125 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231939/http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/cervante/csa/artics99/wasserma.htm |archive-date=3 March 2016 |access-date=25 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/cervante/csa/articf01/diary.pdf |title=A Diary for ''I, Don Quixote'', ''Cervantes'' |journal=Journal of the Cervantes Society of America |volume=21 |issue=2 |year=2001 |pages=117–123 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303211807/http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/cervante/csa/articf01/diary.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 |access-date=25 September 2014}}</ref> The [[Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library]] is the world's largest [[digital archive]] of Spanish-language historical and literary works.

''The Cervantes Society of America'' was founded in 1978 and held its first membership meeting in San Francisco in December, 1979. The organization aims to further studies of Cervantes' works and his influence in our society.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the CSA |url=https://cervantessocietyamerica.org/history |access-date=2025-04-07 |website=CERVANTES SOCIETY OF AMERICA |language=en-US}}</ref>