The short answer
- Choose our edition if you want the whole Don Quixote: nothing left out, with a 15-minute summary beside it.
- For study: set a few key passages of Don Quixote beside a close, annotated scholarly translation.
How translations differ
The Spanish of 1605 in Don Quixote sounds old even to Spanish readers. A translator must therefore decide how much age to give the English, choosing language that conveys the distance of the original without letting that choice obscure what the sentences say.
What makes Don Quixote hard to translate
Comedy makes Don Quixote hard to translate: its wordplay, mock-heroic speeches and Sancho's strings of proverbs all need attention. A pun calls for a decision about wording, while a proverb raises a choice between keeping the Spanish expression and finding an English equivalent. Notes offer another way to explain the language. The translator must decide how much of that explanation belongs outside the comic speech itself.
The gentleman sets out to live as a knight after reading stories of knights, and the farmer Sancho Panza becomes his squire. That premise gives the translator a particular problem in the mock-heroic speeches: how should the gentleman's chosen role sound in English? The language must convey his attempt to live through the stories he has read. Translating those speeches means attending to that connection between books, speech and action.
The kinds of translation of Don Quixote
| Kind of translation | What it keeps | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Close to the original | The Spanish word order and flavour of Don Quixote | Study, next to the Spanish. |
| Smooth and natural | Don Quixote as a story that reads like an English novel | A first read. |
| Annotated | The names, history and allusions of Don Quixote, explained in notes | Study and teaching. |
| Library of Alexandria | The whole story of Don Quixote, in clear, modern English | A first read, with a 15-minute summary beside it. Open our edition |
When to set a passage beside a scholarly translation
You can use our edition for the whole story and set a few key passages beside a close, annotated scholarly translation. In the opening chapter of the first part, notice the gentleman's relationship with his books. In Chapter 8 of the first part, compare the language of the windmills scene. In a run of Sancho's proverbs, notice English equivalents and explanatory notes.
Questions
Is Don Quixote hard to translate?
Yes: its comedy depends on wordplay, mock-heroic speeches and strings of proverbs that are hard to carry into English. Translators can stay close to Spanish expressions, use English equivalents or explain them in notes. Each passage calls for a decision about how to carry its language and humour across.
How long is Don Quixote?
Our edition of Don Quixote takes about 27 hours to read at an average pace. The novel has two parts, with the first published in 1605 and the second published in 1615.
Do I have to read both parts of Don Quixote?
Both parts make up Don Quixote, so reading the whole novel means reading both. The first part was published in 1605, and the second in 1615. That is the distinction to keep in mind when deciding whether the aim is to read selected passages or the whole story.
Which kind of translation is best for a first read of Don Quixote?
Smooth and natural suits a first read of Don Quixote, keeping a story that reads like an English novel. Close to the original suits study next to the Spanish, while Annotated suits study and teaching through notes that explain names, history and allusions.
Is the Library of Alexandria edition of Don Quixote complete?
Yes. The whole story is there, from beginning to end, in clear, modern language.
