Cervantes

Antes de leer el texto, resuelve la sección I y la parte A de la sec

ción II.

LObserva el texto y marca la opción si crees que está tomado de:

Una enciclopedia.
Un libro de texto.
Una historia del Renacimiento.

i CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, MIGUEL and Tunis. On his return voyage

de (1547-1616), Spanish novel- 20 to Spain in 1575, his ship was
ist, poet and playwright; consid- seized by corsairs, and he was taken
ered with Shakespeare, the two with his brother Rodrigo to Al-
5 outstanding literary geniuses of giers, where he spent ive years as
their age. The fourth son of an a slave. He made several ttempts
unsuccesstul surgeon, he was born 25 to escape and was released in
in Alcalá de Henares and studied 1580, being ransomed by the friar
at Valladolid, Seville and Madrid. Juan Gil. He returned to Spain to
10 In 1569 he went to Italy, where lead a precarious existence as a
he served briefly in the household minor government oficial, main-
of Cardinal Acquaviva and, in 30 ly as tax collector and purchasing
1570, enlisted as a soldier. In the agent for the Armada. In 1584 he
great victory at Lepanto (1571), married the 19-year old Catalina
15 C. was maimed in his left hand de Salazar, a union which proved
which was rendered useless, but childless and unhappy. Shortly be-
later he participated in other en- 35 fore his marriage, however, C. fa-
gagements in Cortu, Navarino thered an illegitimate daughter,

67
 Isabel, the offspring of an amorous themes of adventure and love, inclu
liaison. Moving periodically from ding some that displayed a
penetrat
town tO town, he was several times 75 ing observation of social and moral
40 charged with illegal requisitioning issues. The Viaje del Parnaso (1614)
and mishandling of accounts. The was a long allegorical poem. His
last
most serious case (1596) involved a work, Los trabajos de Persiles y Segis-
Sum of money due to the royal trea- munda (1617), was published soon
sury, which he had entrusted to a Se- s0 after his death. A huge novel of un-
45 ville banker who absconded. Asa real adventures in an idealized
setting,
result, C. spent three months in jail it was a resounding success with
17th
In 1605 he was again arrested with century European readers. C's major
his family in Valladolid, when his work, El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote
daughter became involved in a stab- 85 de la Mancha, is in a category by itself.
50
bing incident. Financial difficulties It was written in two parts, the first
and legal embroilments troubled his published in Madrid in 1605, the sec-
life even after he attained literary ond in 1615.
fame. Describing the wanderings of Don
C. began his literary career as a 90 Quixote, a
dreamy elderly knight
55
poet, his earliest poems being pub- errant, and his earthy faithful squire,
lished in 1568. But his natural talent Sancho Panza, the book satirized the
lay in prose. His first and unfinished
novels of chivalry and was thus re-
novel, La
Galatea, published in Al- ceived and acclaimed
calá by the public.
(1585), was replete with pastoral 95
Hugely successful, the first part of
60
scenes, which he to
was use
again in Don Quixote was translated into En-
other works. About that time he also
glish in 1612 and into French in l614.
wrote many plays, which were staged Later generations, especially since the
(1581-87), though with only mode- 18th century, have continued to ad-
rate success. In 1615, when he was 100 mire the work for its
65
already famous, a collection of these superb treat-
ment of the eternal duality in human
plays was published as Ocho come-
life- that of realism versus
dias y ocho entremeses, but idealism,
only the truth and illusion, faith and disen-
short, one-act comic pieces, ironic
and satirical, show chantment
superior literary 105 S. J. Aarbo,
70 qualities. In the last
years of his life Cervantes: Adventurer,
he also Idealist and Destiny's Fool
published the Novelas ejem-
F. Bell, (1955); A.
plares (1613), a
group of 12 stories on
Cervantes (11947; 1961); W. F.
Entwistle, Cervantes (1965).
68
 UNIDAD 10 cERVANTES

1547 1616
Renacimientob
Miguel de Cervantes
Palestrina
Felipe II de España

Juande Austria
Luis de Góngora
Felix Lope de Vega
William Shakespeare
Francisco Quevedo
Diego Velázquez
Barroco

II A. Señala cuáles de los siguientes datos esperas encontrar en una biografia:

Lugar y fecha de nacimiento

Estudios.
Antecedentes familiares.
Infancia y juventud.

Matrimonio.
Obras importantes.
Fecha de la muerte del personaje.

B. Lee la biografia de Miguel de Cervantes. Subraya en el texto los datos que

localizaste de la lista anterior. No recurras al diccionario para buscar cada
palabra desconocida. Trata de inferir el significado por medio del contexto.

II. Para contestar las siguientes preguntas utiliza las estrategias scanning
y search reading.

1.Qué géneros literarios cultivó Cervantes?

69
WINDOWS TO CUILTURE I A READING
COMPREHENsION TEXTBOOK

2. En qué batalla quedó inutilizado de la mano izquierda?

3. 2Quiénes capturaron su barco en el regreso a España y a dónde fue llevado como

esclavo?

4. Para quién trabajó a su regreso a España?

5. De qué delitos le acusó

se en España?

IV. Completa el siguiente cuadro.

WORK YEAR OF PUBLICATION GENRE DISTINCTIVE FEATURES

La Galatea 1585 novel pastoral scenes
first part
El ingenioso
1605

1613 stories
1614
a)

1615
b) second part of

1617

V. Elementos lingüísticos

A. La palabra where puede introducir una

un
explicacióno aclaración sobre
lugar mencionado con anterioridad en el texto.
Observa en los renglones
10-11:...where he served briefly in the household
of Cardinal Acquaviva..
La palabra where se refiere a
ltaly.
70
 UNIDAD 10 CERVANTES

A qué lugar se refiere where en el renglón 10?

Qué explicacióno aclaración se hace sobre este lugar?

B. El pronombre relativo which introduce información sobre

algo que se
mencionó anteriormente. Observa la frase "which proved childless and
unhappy en los renglones 33 y 34; which se refiere a la unión de Cervan-
tes y Catalina de Salazar.

Qué es lo que dice sobre ese matrimonio?

A qu se refiere which en el renglón 44?

C. La palabra when indica generalmente referencia

una temporal.

A qué año se refiere when en el renglón 48?

Qué ocurrió en ese año?

D. Escribe en inglés los antónimos de las palabras siguientes. Consulta el

texto. Qué observaciones puedes hacer sobre los afijos un, i, mis, less yful?

Successful
Useful

Unhappy
Legitimate
Illegal
Handling
Unfinished
Real

71
 TEXTBOOK
COMPREHENSION

READING
CULTURE I A
WINDOWs TO

esparñol de la biografía de Cervante

VI. Haz
un
un r e s u m e n

resumen
en

es breve.
Recuerda
que

72