In 1615, Miguel de Cervantes published the second part of Don Quixote, ten years after the first. The sequel deepened the work's play with authorship, illusion, parody and readerly expectation. It responded partly to an unauthorised continuation that had appeared in 1614.

The second part of Don Quixote helped establish the modern novel as a self-aware narrative form. Its mixture of comedy, metafiction and pathos influenced prose fiction, verse satire and dramatic characterisation across Europe.