80 Don Quixote Trivia Questions with Answers
80 public questions with answers, drawn from the well. How many can you answer?
Don Quixote trivia covers Miguel de Cervantes’s landmark Spanish novel, its characters, publication history, literary influence, and cultural afterlife. Questions may ask about Alonso Quixano’s obsession with chivalric romances, the village priest who examines his library, the Spanish title of Part One, or the Madrid printer connected with its first edition. The hub also reaches beyond the novel to Pablo Picasso’s 1955 drawing of Don Quixote.
This quiz suits literature classes, book clubs, pub quizzes, and readers interested in early modern Spain. It tests both plot-related knowledge and bibliographic detail, including the publication of Part One in 1605 and Part Two in 1615. Players familiar with Cervantes, Sancho Panza, Spanish literary history, and the development of the modern novel will have a strong advantage.
What genre of books drives Alonso Quixano to imagine himself a knight?
Answer
chivalric romances
What is the original Spanish title of Don Quixote Part One?
Answer
El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha
Which Madrid printer produced the first edition of Don Quixote Part One?
Answer
Juan de la Cuesta
Which publisher issued the first part of Don Quixote in 1605?
Answer
Francisco de Robles
Who wrote the 1742 English novel Joseph Andrews, influenced by Don Quixote?
Answer
Henry Fielding
What title does Don Quixote give himself after his encounter with lions?
Answer
Knight of the Lions
What is Sancho Panza's role in relation to Don Quixote?
Answer
squire
Which character is Kitri's lover in the Don Quixote ballet?
Answer
Basilio
Who published a highly acclaimed English translation of Don Quixote in 2003?
Answer
Edith Grossman
In The Ill-Advised Curiosity, what city is Anselmo from?
Answer
Florence
Which law-enforcement brotherhood sends an officer with a warrant for Don Quixote?
Answer
Santa Hermandad
What mountain range do Don Quixote and Sancho wander into in Part One?
Answer
Sierra Morena
Who wrote the story Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote?
Answer
Jorge Luis Borges
Which lost Shakespeare collaboration is based on Cardenio from Don Quixote?
Answer
The History of Cardenio
Which composer wrote the tone poem Don Quixote, Op. 35?
Answer
Richard Strauss
What is the signature song from Man of La Mancha?
Answer
The Impossible Dream
Which 1965 Broadway musical is based on Don Quixote?
Answer
Man of La Mancha
Who narrates the Captive's Tale in Part One of Don Quixote?
Answer
Ruy Perez de Viedma
Which noble couple plays many pranks on Don Quixote and Sancho in Part Two?
Answer
Duke and Duchess
What is Don Quixote's real name, revealed near the end of the novel?
Answer
Alonso Quijano
Which earlier knightly disguise does Sanson Carrasco use before the White Moon disguise?
Answer
Knight of the Mirrors
What wooden horse do Don Quixote and Sancho ride blindfolded?
Answer
Clavileno
What princess name does Dorotea use in her disguise?
Answer
Princess Micomicona
Who is Cardenio's beloved in Don Quixote?
Answer
Luscinda
Which inn servant appears in the nighttime confusion with Don Quixote?
Answer
Maritornes
Who composed the 1869 ballet Don Quixote?
Answer
Ludwig Minkus
What is the title of Jules Massenet's 1910 opera based on Don Quixote?
Answer
Don Quichotte
Which freed galley slave later appears as Master Pedro?
Answer
Ginés de Pasamonte
Who owns the inn where Don Quixote and Sancho enter in Part I?
Answer
Juan Palomeque
Who made the first English translation of Don Quixote?
Answer
Thomas Shelton
Who printed the 1605 first edition of Don Quixote?
Answer
Juan de la Cuesta
Don Quixote trivia — quick answers
What are good Don Quixote trivia questions?
Good Don Quixote trivia questions cover characters, plot, literary genres, publication history, and adaptations. Examples include identifying Alonso Quixano’s reading obsession, naming the priest who inspects his library, translating the original Spanish title, and recognizing the novel’s importance in literary history.
How hard is Don Quixote trivia?
Don Quixote trivia ranges from moderate to difficult. General readers may know Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, but questions about Spanish titles, printers, publication locations, dates, and secondary characters require familiarity with Cervantes scholarship and the novel’s historical context.
What is the original Spanish title of Don Quixote Part One?
The original title is El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, commonly translated as The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha. It identifies the protagonist’s social status as an hidalgo and names La Mancha, the central Spanish region associated with his adventures.
What kind of books cause Alonso Quixano to imagine himself as a knight?
Alonso Quixano becomes absorbed in books of chivalry, also called chivalric romances. Their stories of wandering knights, quests, enchanted adventures, and heroic deeds affect his judgment so deeply that he adopts the name Don Quixote and sets out to revive the ideals of knight-errantry.
Who helps inspect Don Quixote’s library?
The village priest, whose name is Pero Pérez, helps inspect Don Quixote’s library after the knight’s family and friends decide that the books have encouraged his delusions. The barber, Master Nicolás, also participates in the examination. Their judgment leads to the removal or burning of many volumes.
Why is Don Quixote considered an important modern novel?
Don Quixote is often described as one of the first modern novels because it combines layered narration, psychological complexity, self-conscious treatment of fiction, social observation, and a sustained prose narrative. Cervantes also plays with the boundary between invented stories and lived experience, influencing later novelists across Europe and beyond.