Anthony Close's study places Don Quixote in the context of Cervantes' life and literary career, and in the book's cultural and social background. It focuses primarily on the central problems of Cervantine comedy, the use of burlesque, the presentation of characters through dialogue, the narrator's viewpoint, the virtuoso play with registers, and the complex and elusive irony. Using detailed analysis of individual passages, Dr Close shows how the moral themes of the novel are distilled in its humour, and in the characters of Don Quixote and Sancho. He also gives particular attention to the impact of this landmark text on the development of the European novel.