Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote takes aim at the chivalric tradition, using burlesque treatment to unsettle the heroic conventions of courtly tales. The work appeared in two parts: the first in 1605 and its continuation in 1615.

A landmark in the novel’s development

The novel is widely regarded as an early modern novel and a polyphonic work, and its influence extended across European narrative. Its lasting significance lies in the way it turns a comic challenge to literary conventions into a foundational contribution to the history of fiction.