During the late Middle Ages, the ideals of chivalry and honor emerged as the dominant themes in literature. Romantic tales of gallant knights and courtly love captured the imaginations of medieval readers, and this influence carried over into the Renaissance and early modern Europe. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, these romantic medieval values clashed with the new emphasis on reason. The influence of both sets of values is seen in the Spanish author Miguel …showed first 75 words of 1297 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1297 total…hout Don Quixote's fantasies, Sancho's life would have lacked entertainment. Such a story as Don Quixote's would not exist if not for the imagination; at the same time, it would be ridiculous to accept this story as truth and not consider it from a realistic point of view. Through this charming, yet sobering, tale, Cervantes illustrates that a proper balance between idealism and practicality must be achieved, and that without both principles, life is fruitless.