A poetic regard on the birth of novel: Heinrich Heine's prologue to a german edition of "Don Quixote"

Abstract

This article deals with the foreword by the renowned German poet and essayist Heinrich Heine to a new German edition of Don Quixote, published in 1837. We analyze Heine’s personal comments on his reaction when he first read this work as a child, as well as the internal artistic debate he sustained with Cervantes throughout his life. The special interest of this foreword –its confessional character contributes rather subjective data to Cervantes’ studies– nevertheless consists in some very relevant judgements made by a great poet on the prototype of the modern novel, as they shed a new light on its reception by outstanding writers.