The Satiric Subject, its Practices and Purposes in Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote

High comedy is defined as a comedy that appeals to and reflects the life and problems of the upper social classes, characterized by a witty, sardonic treatment. In comparison to that is low comedy a comedy that gets its effect mainly from action and situation, as burlesque, farce, slapstick, and horseplay, rather than from a witty dialogue and characterization. The author Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) defines satire as: "A Poem in which wickedness or folly is …

…is only possible with the support of high comedy, because low comedy is for entertaining purposes only. The main character Alonso Quixano, who transformed into the knight-errant Don Quixote, devotes himself to high ideals in a world filled with scheming. In fact, Quixote sometimes seems to be the only sane man in an insane society. His sincerity is what finally wins the reader over. Works Cited: Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de. Don Quixote. New York: Penguin, 2003.