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Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quijote, Part One (1605) purports to be an historical chronicle of the exploits of a mad Manchegan knight, a conceit which Don Quijote, Part Two (1615) develops by staging encounters between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza and characters who have read the 'true history' of Part One. This structure culminates in the episodes involving the Duke and Duchess, assiduous readers of Part One who concoct elaborate pranks at Quixote's and Sancho's expense. Consumed by their merrymaking, the Duke and Duchess reveal themselves to be quixotic in a peculiarly literary way: they ape Quixote's madness by miming his exaggerated imitation of literature. In this way, Part One, like the books of knight errantry that drive Quixote insane, becomes the stimulus for extravagant behaviour. This identification simultaneously celebrates and satirizes the popular reception and power of Cervantes's own work, which itself achieves a bizarre capacity to drive sane individuals to behavioural extremes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a literary criticism for the book "Don Quijote" by Miguel de Cervantes. The author comments on the elements of political satire and parody present in the first part of the book, particularly as it related to the Spanish monarchy's territorial expansion and colonization. He also describes the representation of the socioeconomic conditions in Spain during the 16th century, as exemplified by the episode regarding the mythological king Mambrino and his golden helmet.