Miguel de Cervantes Biography

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish author, poet and playwright of the 17th century. His ‘Don Quixote’ is considered to be the first model novel of the modern literary style. His impact on the Spanish language and literature is so huge that Spanish language is sometimes known as ‘la lengua de Cervantes’ (the language of Cervantes). His novels, poetry and plays are full of intelligent satire and expressions that are easy for a regular reader to relate with. This is the reason why he was known to be ‘El Principe de los Ingenios’, which means ‘The Prince of Wits’. He was born in Madrid in a poor family, his father worked as a barber-doctor and wandered from city to city, looking for work. Cervantes studied architecture, literature and art in Rome for some time when he was young and then later on joined the Spanish navy. It was while serving in the navy that his left arm got brutally wounded and he could not use it thereafter. He considered it as a symbol of honor as he was fighting for his country. He led a poor life until his ‘Don Quixote’ became famous. The novel did not bring him much money but established him as an important literary figure.