\u201cSomewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing (\u2026)\u201d<\/p>\n
When I think about chivalry, the first image that comes into my mind is that of the wandering knight in shining armour, defending the helpless, loving idealized women, and behaving according to strict honour codes. We all know about King Arthur and his Round Table. But every coin has two sides: it is true that Spanish medieval literature gave us \u201cEl Cid Campeador\u201d as an example of a brave knight, but we have Don Quixote as a chivalric character as well.<\/p>\n
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra published Don Quixote in 1605, achieving great success. Although some elements were taken from his own life, the writer\u2019s intention was to mock in this novel the popularity of romance books. I\u2019ll give you only a brief summary, in the hope that you will read this novel someday!<\/p>\n
Don Quixote is a middle-aged man, obsessed with the gallant adventures he reads in books, who decides to take his lance and sword to defend the weak with the help of his loyal squire Sancho Panza, and his old horse, Rocinante. In his eccentric mind, he fights giants instead of mills, and tries to win honour and glory in the name of his ladylove, Dulcinea del Toboso, who is in fact a peasant. Cervantes plays with irony, criticizes social roles and values through the tragicomic character of the knight, and emphasizes Sancho\u2019s down-to-earth wisdom by using him as the link between Don Quixote and the rest of the world, between madness and reality.<\/p>\n
Don Quixote is a literary masterpiece worth reading. It is currently available in the public domain, so you don\u2019t even have to buy it. If you feel brave enough, you can read and even listen to it in this link:<\/p>\n
Don Quixote-read-listen<\/a><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=24gDcvp9Agw&feature=related<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cEn un lugar de la Mancha, de cuyo nombre no quiero acordarme, no ha mucho tiempo que viv\u00eda un hidalgo de los de lanza en astillero, adarga antigua, roc\u00edn flaco y galgo corredor.\u201d<\/p>\n Cuando pienso sobre la caballer\u00eda, la primera imagen que viene a mi mente es la de un caballero errante, de brillante armadura, defendiendo al d\u00e9bil, enamorado de damas idealizadas, y actuando seg\u00fan los estrictos c\u00f3digos del honor. Todos conocemos al rey Arturo y su mesa redonda. Pero toda moneda tiene dos caras: es cierto que la literatura espa\u00f1ola medieval nos dio al Cid Campeador como ejemplo de un valiente guerrero, pero tambi\u00e9n tenemos a Don Quijote como personaje caballeresco.<\/p>\n Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra public\u00f3 \u201cDon Quijote\u201d en 1605, obteniendo un gran \u00e9xito. Aunque algunos elementos se basaron en su propia vida, la intenci\u00f3n del autor fue la de ridiculizar en esta novela la popularidad alcanzada por los libros sobre el amor cort\u00e9s. Tan solo dejar\u00e9 un peque\u00f1o resumen, \u00a1ya que espero que todos le\u00e1is esta novela alg\u00fan d\u00eda!<\/p>\n Don Quijote es un hombre de mediana edad, obsesionado con las ideas caballerescas que lee en los libros, que decide coger su lanza y su espada para defender al desvalido con la ayuda de su leal escudero Sancho Panza, y su vieja montura, Rocinante.\u00a0 En su mente enferma, lucha con gigantes en vez de contra molinos, intenta ganar honor y gloria en nombre del amor que siente por su dama, Dulcinea del Toboso, quien en realidad es una campesina. Cervantes juega con la iron\u00eda, critica los roles sociales y los valores adoptados a trav\u00e9s de la figura tragic\u00f3mica del caballero, y ensalza la sabidur\u00eda popular de Sancho, us\u00e1ndolo como nexo entre Don Quijote y el resto del mundo, entre su locura y la realidad.<\/p>\n Don Quijote es una obra maestra de la literatura que merece la pena leer. En la actualidad pertenece al dominio p\u00fablico, por lo que no hay que pagar por ella. As\u00ed que, si os sent\u00eds valientes, pod\u00e9is leerla e incluso o\u00edrla en este enlace:<\/p>\n Don Quijote de la Mancha- leer-escuchar<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cSomewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing (\u2026)\u201d When I think about chivalry, the first image that comes…<\/p>\n