1.1.40
Don Quixote 1.1.40 · The giant Caraculiambro1.1.40The giant Caraculiambro
Don Quixote writes out the speech the beaten giant will make, kneeling before the lady.
· · ·
“
Yo1
yo
I
, señora2
se·ÑO·ra
my lady
, soy3
soy
am
el4
el
the
gigante5
gi·GAN·te
giant
Caraculiambro6
ca·ra·cu·LIAM·bro
Caraculiambro
, señor7
se·ÑOR
lord
de8
de
of
la9
la
the
ínsula10
ÍN·su·la
island
Malindrania11
ma·lin·DRA·nia
Malindrania
, a12
a
(the one)to
quien13
quien
whom
venció14
ven·CIÓ
defeated
en15
en
in
singular16
sin·gu·LAR
singlesingular
batalla17
ba·TA·lla
combatbattle
el18
el
the
jamás19
ja·MÁS
never
como20
CO·mo
as
se21
se
(one)
debe22
DE·be
dulyought
alabado23
a·la·BA·do
praised
caballero24
ca·ba·LLE·ro
knight
don25
don
Donsir
Quijote26
qui·JO·te
Quixote
de27
de
of
la28
la
La
Mancha29
MAN·cha
Mancha
, el30
el
whothe
cual31
cual
(who)which
me32
me
me
mandó33
man·DÓ
ordered
que34
que
tothat
me35
me
myself
presentase36
pre·sen·TA·se
presentshould present
ante37
AN·te
before
vuestra38
VUES·tra
your
merced39
mer·CED
gracemercy
, para40
PA·ra
so
que41
que
that
la42
la
(the)
vuestra43
VUES·tra
your
grandeza44
gran·DE·za
highnessgreatness
disponga45
dis·PON·ga
may dispose
de46
de
of
mí47
mí
me
a48
a
at
su49
su
herits
talante50
ta·LAN·te
pleasuremood
”? “I, my lady, am the giant Caraculiambro, lord of the island Malindrania, whom defeated in single combat the never duly praised knight Don Quixote of La Mancha, who ordered me to present myself before your grace, so that your highness may dispose of me at her pleasure”?
“I, my lady, am the giant Caraculiambro, lord of the island Malindrania, whom defeated in single combat the never duly praised knight Don Quixote of La Mancha, who ordered me to present myself before your grace, so that your highness may dispose of me at her pleasure”?
Interpretation
“I, my lady, am the giant Caraculiambro, lord of the island of Malindrania, beaten in single combat by the never sufficiently praised knight Don Quixote of La Mancha, who ordered me to present myself before your grace, so that your highness may do with me as she pleases”?
Don Quixote gets to praise himself through the giant’s mouth: el jamás como se debe alabado caballero, "the never as one ought praised knight", a pile-up of words in the inflated order of the romances. The speech is courtly from end to end, with vuestra merced and la vuestra grandeza. Vuestra merced is the ordinary polite "you" of 1605, and the ancestor of usted.
The names are his own inventions, and they sound it. Caraculiambro starts with cara, "face", and runs on into nonsense. Malindrania has the sound of a romance kingdom. The island, the ínsula, uses the bookish word for isla, and it will come back: in chapter 7 Don Quixote promises Sancho Panza an ínsula to govern.
1.1.41
Don Quixote 1.1.41 · Oh, how glad he was1.1.41Oh, how glad he was
The narrator steps in to share the knight’s delight, first at his speech, then at finding a lady.
· · ·
Oh, how our good knight rejoiced when he had made this speech, and even more when he found someone to whom to give the name of his lady!