Don Quxote

Spain 's Golden Age Page 01

SPAIN 'S GOLDEN AGE

Spain 's Golden Age

Creates a Golden Novel

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Customer 's Affiliation Spain 's Golden Age Page 01 Abstract

History and the literary culture of 17th century Spain greatly influenced the writing of the novel , Don Quixote ' Miguel de Cervantes wrote and published this classic at a time when Spain was caught in the throes of being a superpower , and at the same time , of suffering an inevitable decline . These historical and cultural elements are crucial

prompters for Cervantes to sit down and produce a classic golden novel , in a historical period dubbed to be Spain 's golden age The artist , after all , is largely indebted to his experiences for the creation of his art and this proves so true in the case of Miguel de Cervantes and his largely humorous literary work , Don Quixote Spain 's Golden Age Page 03 Spain 's Grandeur and Degradation

Spain was at its most glorious stately place in the 17th Century at the time when Miguel de Cervantes wrote his classic novel , Don Quixote . The country had established its colonies all over the world controlling Mexico , Peru , Cuba , the Americas , and even going as far as Asia , in the Philippines . Silver and gold poured in to catapult Spain in economic and political splendor , making it the world 's superpower at that time . Historians call this period the golden age of Spain . However it was also during this glorious era that Spain had ruthlessly suffered its inevitable defeat , the most popular of which is the destruction of the Spanish armada in 1588 , by English forces . Because of this , the country found itself in an atypical , conflicting period , a period wherein a new age was rising to the surface , a period wherein the country was suspended between grandeur and degradation . While the cause of Spain 's decline is debatable , one thing is historically certain : its kings were having trouble with managing the vast territories , and numerous antagonistic events , like the plague in Castille that claimed many Spanish lives , contributed to the country 's saddening fate Catholicism , Spain 's dominant religion was also on the decline , spurring conflicts against other religions like Islam and Protestantism , stemming from the crusades in earlier history . These noteworthy historical occurrences are evident in Don Quixote , since the novel illustrates the highly diverse Spanish sociological and political experience at that time . However , it is Cervantes ' personal experience , sociological and political , that serves as the most potent source of the novel . It contains elements in parallel with the novelist 's own life for instance , the Algerian pirates appearing on the Spanish coast , the Moors being exiled , the Spanish prisoners failing to escape are similar events in Cervantes ' own life Spain : The 17th Century Superpower Page 04

The sociological and political structure of 17th Century Spain had a direct , powerful influence in the writing of Spain 's classic golden novel

The Romances : Spain 's 17th Century Literary Tradition

The dominant literary...