Don Quixote Literary Devices

Definition of Allusion

In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition

In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition

In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition

Explanation and Analysis—So Many St. Thomases:

In the Prologue, Cervantes makes multiple allusions to key figures in philosophy and theology in order to satirize the authors of his own day. Noting that his own book, Don Quixote, has no “marginalia or endnotes,” he writes:

I’m coming out with a book as dry as esparto grass, [...] without any marginalia or endnotes, unlike other books I see that, even though they are fictional and not about religious subjects, are so crammed with maxims from Aristotle, Plato and the whole herd of philosophers that they amaze their readers, who consider the authors to be well-read, erudite and eloquent men? And when they quote the Holy Scriptures! Anyone would take them for no less than so many St Thomases and other doctors of the Church.

Here, Cervantes compares his novel to other examples of popular literature that are “so crammed with maxims form Aristotle, Plato and the whole herd of philosophers” despite being “fictional and not about religious subjects.” Readers, he concludes, regard the authors of these works as “well-read, erudite and eloquent men” just because they quote so extensively from philosophy and the Bible. Alluding to Thomas Aquinas, a major figure in medieval Christian theology, Cervantes jokes that these popular authors present themselves as “so many St. Thomases and other doctors of the Church.” Here, Cervantes satirizes what he regards as the pretension of other popular authors who dress up their fiction with quotations from venerated thinkers in order to appear more intelligent than they are.

Explanation and Analysis—Feliciano de Silva:

Cervantes parodies numerous other authors, such as Feliciano de Silva, who wrote within the chivalric literary tradition that is satirized extensively throughout Don Quixote. When describing Don Quixote’s tastes in literature, for example, the narrator states that:

[He] liked none of them so much as those by the famous Feliciano de Silva, because the brilliance of the prose and all that intricate language seemed a treasure to him, never more so than when he was reading those amorous compliments and challenges delivered by letter, in which he often found: ‘The reason for the unreason to which my reason is subjected, so weakens my reason that I have reason to complain of your beauty.’

Here, Cervantes alludes to “the famous Feliciano de Silva,” a real author from Spain who was active in the 16th century. Like other writers of chivalric literature, de Silva’s stories generally followed knights and other heroes in their various adventures. Don Quixote, Cervantes writes, values de Silva’s stories above all others due to the “brilliance of the prose” and “intricate language.” Rather than using a quotation from one of de Silva’s stories, however, Cervantes parodies de Silva’s writing, stating that Don Quixote enjoyed such lines as “The reason for the unreason to which my reason is subjected, so weakens my reason that I have reason to complain of your beauty.” Through this parody, Cervantes suggests that de Silva’s writing was overly ornate but ultimately meaningless, focusing much more on rhetorical complexity than making sense.

Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

Explanation and Analysis—Honourable Profession:

Cervantes employs verbal irony and numerous allusions in a scene in which an innkeeper decides to “humour” Don Quixote after recognizing that the knight isn’t “in his right mind”:

The innkeeper, who, as I’ve said, was something of a wag, and had already suspected that his guest wasn’t in his right mind [...] decided to humour him; so he said that he was quite right to pursue these objectives [...] and that he himself in his younger days had followed the same honourable profession, roaming through different parts of the world in search of adventure, without omitting to visit such districts as Percheles and Islas de Riarán in Malaga, Compás in Seville, Azoguejo in Segovia, Olivera in Valencia, Rondilla in Granada, Playa in Sanlúcar, Potro in Cordova and Ventillas in Toledo.

The innkeeper, hoping to give the other guests at the inn something to laugh at, decides to play along with Don Quixote’s chivalric fantasies. Instead of discouraging him from traveling across Spain as a knight errant, the innkeeper instead states that he was once a knight himself and spent his earlier life “roaming through different parts of the world in search of adventure.” While listing the various cities where he sought fame and glory, he alludes to districts and neighborhoods that were regarded as disreputable during Cervantes’s time, better known for criminal behavior than chivalry. Throughout his speech to Don Quixote, the innkeeper uses verbal irony, falsely claiming that he believes that knight errantry is a reasonable lifestyle and presenting various seedy neighborhoods as fine places to find renown. The innkeeper is one of numerous characters who decide to humor Don Quixote’s delusions rather than pointing out his errors.

Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

Explanation and Analysis—Carloto and Baldwin:

The novel contains countless allusions to popular literature of Cervantes’s day, reflecting Don Quixote’s tendency to turn to fiction, especially stories concerning knights and heroes, as a guide for his own conduct. In one notable example, Don Quixote alludes to Carloto, son of the emperor Charlemagne in many legends, after he is beaten by a traveling merchant:

Finding, then, that he couldn’t move, it occurred to him to resort to his usual remedy, which was to think about some passage from his books; and his madness brought to his memory the episode from the story of Baldwin and the Marquis of Mantua in which Carloto leaves Baldwin wounded in the forest, a tale known to every little boy, not unfamiliar to youths, celebrated and even believed by old men [...]

Previously, Don Quixote challenged a group of merchants and was beaten by one until he could no longer move. Unsure of how he should respond to this predicament, he now turns, as he often does, to “some passage from his books.” Here, he thinks about a popular ballad in which Carloto defeats Baldwin, nephew of the Marquis of Mantua, leaving him “wounded in the forest.” Carloto and other members of Charlemagne's family were frequent subjects in chivalric literature concerning the history of France. This allusion reflects Don Quixote’s reliance upon chivalric literature, which he uses as a template for navigating his own life despite the fact that it offers only impractical solutions.

Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

Explanation and Analysis—Books on Trial:

Cervantes uses an extended metaphor and numerous allusions in a comic scene in which the members of Don Quixote’s household put the books of his library on trial, condemning many of them to the flames in order to weaken their influence on him. In one passage, they examine The Four Books of Amadis of Gaul after Don Quixote’s niece recommends burning all of the books without further examination:

The housekeeper said much the same, so anxious were both women to see those innocents massacred, but the priest wouldn’t agree without at least reading the titles. The first one that Master Nicolás put into his hands was The Four Books of Amadis of Gaul, and the priest said: ‘This is a strange coincidence: I’ve heard that this was the very first chivalry romance to be printed in Spain [...] so it seems to me that, as the prophet of such a pernicious sect, it should be condemned to the flames without delay.’

In this passage, Cervantes maintains an extended metaphor in which the books are under trial for religious heresy, describing the housekeeper and niece as zealots who wish to “see those innocents massacred.” The priest, in contrast, takes a more moderate approach, deciding to look at the books individually and recommending to spare some. First, they examine The Four Books of Amadis of Gaul, a favorite of Don Quixote and, as the priest explains, “the very first chivalry romance to be printed in Spain.” The priest, recognizing the important role that the Amadis of Gaul stories have played in spreading chivalric literature through Spain, declares the book, in a metaphor, as a “prophet” of a “pernicious sect” that should be “condemned to the flames” immediately. Through this allusion, Cervantes looks at the origins of the chivalric tradition that he satirizes throughout his novel.

Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

Explanation and Analysis—Cervantes :

In a moment in the novel that exemplifies Cervantes’s playful treatment of fact and fiction, he alludes to himself and to his own writing. While combing through Don Quixote’s library, the priest asks about a book that the barber identifies as Galatea:

‘But what’s this other one by its side?’

‘Galatea, by Miguel de Cervantes.’

‘That fellow Cervantes has been a good friend of mine for years, and I know he’s more conversant with adversity than with verse. His book’s ingenious enough; it sets out to achieve something but doesn’t bring anything to a conclusion; we’ll have to wait for the promised second part; maybe with correction it’ll gain the full pardon denied it for the time being; so while we wait and see, you keep it a captive in your house, my friend.’

Cervantes wrote the first part of Galatea in 1585. Though it found some success, it was not as widely popular as Don Quixote, and Cervantes never published the “promised second part” of the book, to which the priest alludes. Humorously, the priest identifies Cervantes as a “good friend” of his, and he offers Cervantes some moderate praise, describing Galatea as “ingenious enough” though unfinished. In this passage, then, Cervantes inserts himself into the narrative in an indirect fashion, further blurring the lines between fiction and reality.

Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

Explanation and Analysis—Justice:

In a lengthy speech delivered to a group of perplexed but kind goatherds, Don Quixote employs allegory and allusion in order to describe the relative peace and prosperity of the so-called Golden Age:

Justice kept within her own bounds, and favour and interest, which now depreciate, confound and persecute her, did not dare assail or disturb her. As yet the judge could not make his whim the measure of the law, because there was nothing to judge and nobody to be judged. Maidens and modesty roamed, as I have said, wherever they wished, alone and mistresses of themselves, without fear of harm from others’ intemperance and lewd designs [...] And now, in these detestable times of ours, no maiden is safe, even if she is hidden away in the depths of another Cretan labyrinth.

Here, Quixote invokes a traditional allegorical figure, describing the abstract concept of “Justice” as a female goddess who rules over the land. In the Golden Age, Quixote claims, Justice “kept within her own bounds” and was, in turn, left alone by “favour and interest,” factors that sway justice in the present day. Further, “Maidens” were able to go “wherever they wished” without “fear of harm” from the “lewd designs” of others. In comparison, he notes, women in his own day are never “safe” even if “hidden away in the depths of another Cretan labyrinth.” Here, he alludes to a well-known myth in which King Minos of Crete constructed a labyrinth to house the minotaur, a monster with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man. Quixote’s allusion, then, underscores the serious risks of gendered violence faced by women in his day and imagines a more harmonious past in which women experienced greater safety and freedom.

Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

Explanation and Analysis—Lycurgus and Solon:

In a heavily satirical scene in which Don Quixote, the priest, and the barber debate about politics, Cervantes alludes to historical and mythological figures associated with statecraft and governance:

And as the conversation developed they came to the subject that is sometimes called reason of state and methods of government, and they all corrected this abuse and condemned that one, and reformed one custom and forbad another, and each of the three men turned into a new legislator, a present-day Lycurgus or a modern Solon; and they subjected society to such radical reforms that anyone would have thought they’d taken it to a forge and brought away a different one [...]

At first, the barber and doctor believe that Quixote is still mad. As they chat about “reason of state and method of government,” however, they each suggest major reforms and prohibitions. Somewhat sarcastically, the narrator describes each of them as being “turned into a new legislator, a present-day Lycurgus or modern Solon.” Lycurgus was a legendary lawmaker in Ancient Sparta, known for sweeping political and social reforms that shaped Spartan society. Similarly, Solon was a statesman and political philosopher in ancient Athens, known for his contributions to their democratic system. Ultimately, these allusions are ironic, as the villagers have no experience leading a large state or empire. In this passage, then, Cervantes gently satirizes those everyday people living in a small town with no political experience who, he feels, nevertheless feel confident to prescribe “radical reforms” to their state.

Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

Explanation and Analysis—Virgil and Homer:

In Part 2 of the novel, Sancho Panza presents Don Quixote with some surprising news: though many people regard him as mad, his adventures have become the subject of a popular book and Quixote is now quite famous. Quixote receives this news ambivalently, unsure of whether he should be flattered or insulted. Sancho fetches a young college student named Sansón Carrasco to tell them more about the book, and in the course of their conversation, Quixote alludes to various heroes from epic poetry:

‘For all that,’ the young graduate replied, ‘some of those who’ve read the history say that they’d have been happier if its authors had overlooked some of the countless beatings that Don Quixote received in various confrontations.’

‘That’s where the truth of the history comes in,’ said Sancho.

‘But they could, in all fairness, have kept quiet about them,’ said Don Quixote [...] 'I am sure that Aeneas was not as pious as Virgil depicts him, nor was Ulysses as prudent as Homer says.’

Carrasco notes that the book is regarded highly by most, though some feel that its authors should have “overlooked some of the countless beatings that Don Quixote received.” Though Sancho insists that the inclusion of these details reflects the “truth of the history,” Quixote disagrees, arguing that the authors could “have kept quiet about them.” Defending his argument, he suggests that “Aeneas was not as pious as Virgil depicts him, nor was Ulysses as prudent as Homer says.” Here, Quixote alludes to the heroes of the Aeneid and the Odyssey, major epic poems from Ancient Rome and Greece respectively. Literature, Quixote suggests, often idealizes reality in order to establish inspirational heroes. His argument, then, reflects his own firmly idealistic worldview that so often clashes with the imperfect reality around him.

Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

Explanation and Analysis—I'm So Funny:

In Part 2 of the novel, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza learn of a spurious sequel to the book written about their exploits, written by a man named Avellaneda from Tordesillas, which contains many inaccuracies. Cervantes, then, alludes to a real book, published under the pseudonym Avellaneda, which falsely claimed to be a sequel to Part 1 of Cervantes's own Don Quixote. In an inn, they meet a man named Don Tarfe who claims to have met Quixote and Sancho. When the man, unaware that he is speaking to the real Sancho, claims that Sancho is not as funny in real life as he is in the book, Sancho responds with hyperbole:

I’m the real Sancho Panza, and I’m so funny it’s as if fun had rained down on me from heaven, and if you don’t believe me just give me a try, and follow me around for a year or so, and you’ll see how the fun gushes out of me at every turn, so much of it and such high quality that even though most of the time I don’t know what I’m saying I make everyone listening to me laugh.

Clearly annoyed by the man's claims, Sancho hyperbolically insists that he is "so funny it's as if fun had rained down on me from heaven." Further, he notes that fun "gushes out" of him "at every turn," and he produces "so much of it and at such high quality" that he makes "everyone listening" to him laugh. Here, he speaks in an exaggerated fashion that suggests that he feels some sense of competition with the "false" Sancho featured in the unauthorized sequel. Quixote and Sancho are haunted by these false doubles, who both do and don't resemble them.

Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

Explanation and Analysis—Contended for Homer:

In the closing lines of the novel, Cervantes alludes to Homer when describing the death of Don Quixote:

This was the end of the Ingenious Hidalgo of La Mancha, the name of whose village Cide Hamete couldn’t quite recall, so that all the towns and villages of La Mancha could fight among themselves for the right to adopt him and make him their own son, just as the seven cities of Greece contended for Homer. The lamentations of Sancho, the niece and the housekeeper are omitted from this account, as are the fresh epitaphs that were placed upon his tomb [...]

After returning home to his village following his defeat by the Knight of the White Moon, Don Quixote regains his sanity but not his former liveliness, and within a few days he passes away after giving away his property and making confession to a priest. Here, the narrator notes that Cide Hamete Benengeli, who wrote about Quixote in the past, couldn't "quite recall" the name of the town where Quixote lived and died "so all the towns and villages of La Mancha could fight among themselves [...] just as the seven cities of Greece contended for Homer" to claim him after his death. This allusion to Homer suggests that, as a result of his literary fame, Don Quixote will always be remembered, and the region of La Mancha will take pride in him.

Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

Don Quixote: Allusions 11 key examples