According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, renaissance means "a revival of intellectual or artistic achievement and vigor, the revival of learning and culture, a rebirth, a spiritual enlightenment causing a person to lead a new life (Renaissance pp). Hamlet and Don Quixote are not Renaissance men in the same sense as other notable figures such as Leonardo da Vinci. They were not artists or scientists, however, both Hamlet and Don Quixote did experience a rebirthing, and each set about to change the world around them. Moreover, each of the authors' works, which were written during the first decade of the seventeenth century, deal with the conflicts that arise between the harsh reality of life and romantic ideals. Thus, the characters of Hamlet and Don Quixote, as well as the plot of each work, possess the characteristics of the Renaissance Era.

             Of the two, Don Quixote is probably the most flamboyant, and possesses the love of romance and the art of chivalry. For example, he is so taken by the farmer's daughter, Aldonza Lorenzo, that he is undeterred by her behavior, and says,.

             "For what I want of Dulcinea del Toboso she is .

             as good as the greatest princess in the land, For .

             not all those poets who praise ladies under names .

             which they choose so freely, really have such .

             mistresses.I am quite satisfied to imagine and .

             believe that .Aldonza Lorenzo is so lovely and .

             virtuous (Cervantes Ch. XXV). .

             Don Quixote is quite satisfied to simply imagine her as the princess, no matter the harsh reality of life, in his imagination, his world, she is the princess, Dulcinea del Toboso. In the case of Don Quixote, it was his obsession with reading chivalric romance novels that brought him to a state of illusion, or madness, in the first place. Thus, the world of chivalry and romance, and virtue becomes his reality.

             Hamlet, on the other hand, is a much darker figure. The Renaissance qualities he possesses are those of introspection and a youthful romantic outlook on life.