Miguel de Cervantes was born in Alcala de Henares, Spain, in 1547, the son of a surgeon. Although there is almost no factual information regarding his education, one theory says that he had little formal schooling and basically self-schooled himself. According to certain popular beliefs, Cervantes attended the Jesuit School in Seville and studied under the Madrid humanist Juan Lopez de Hoyos.

He established his literary debut with the publication of four poems by his teacher. In 1568, Cervantes left for Italy where he served in the home of Cardinal Acquaviva in Rome. This proved to be a very stimulating experience for Cervantes because it allowed him to become acquainted with Italian art and literature. In 1569, he marched to Italy on orders and fought in the Battle of Lepanto. As a result of the wounds he received during this time, he tragically and permanently lost use of his left hand.

After serving as a soldier for five years, he returned to Spain in 1575 where he was captured by pirates and taken into slavery. Finally he escaped, and in 1584, he married Catalina de Salazar; she was 22 years younger than Cervantes. He began to encounter money problems in 1597, and for this reason, was thrown into jail in Seville. He died in Madrid, Spain in 1619.

Cervantes has displayed such contemporary literary genius that he is often compared toEnglish playwright William Shakespeare, a writer of the same time period. He has been recognized as an observer and recorder of human nature by many great novelists, from Flaubert to Dostoyevski. Sigmund Freud also credited Cervantes with inspiring some of his important psychoanalytical discoveries.