• Author– Edmond Rostand
– Born 1868 in France while France was under the rule of Napoleon III
– His father wanted him to be a lawyer, but Edmond preferred French literature instead
– He eventually did earn a law degree
– Produced his first play, Le Gant Rouge (The Red Glove) at the age of 20
– Enjoyed early success with the play Les Romanesques
• This play became the inspiration for the more modern play The Fantasticks
• Author Background Cont.– Edmond Rostand
– He volunteered to fight with the French army, but was refused.
– He was very upset about this and consoled himself by writing patriotic poetry.
– During the time that Rostand wrote Cyrano de Bergerac, France was experimenting with scientific research
– The country’s morale was very low. The occult flourished, while naturalism declined, and people were just plain sad.
– Realism was the popular style of the time
– Cyrano emerged as a hopeful character and the people of France were pleased with Rostand for giving them such a different character than the ones that they were used to with the problem plays
• Author– Edmond Rostand
– Great success came with the wildly popular Cyrano de Bergerac
• Cyrano’s character was used as the inspiration for the film version Cyrano de Bergerac starring Gerard Depardieu
• It also served as the inspiration for Steve Martin’s popular film, Roxanne
• Legend has it that the first audience to watch the play applauded a full hour after its conclusion
Background Information
• Background • Theater during Rostand’s day was mostly grim and realistic
• Cyrano was groundbreaking because its hero was anything but realistic and was swashbuckling at its finest
• Its Romantic nature was a breath of fresh air
• Background • The play harkened back to an era in theatre when men were musketeers, women were there to be rescued, and wit was just as important to a hero as how he handled his sword
• Cyrano’s unique blend of honesty, courage, wit and passion brought back to the stage the type of protagonist that had been missing
Literary Focus
• Literary Focus– Date of Publication
– Genre
– Setting (time)
– Setting (place)
– Foils
– Dramatic Irony
• 1897
• Play; heroic comedy and romance
• 1640
• Paris
• Christian and Cyrano are opposites from one another. Both characters possess what the other lacks.
• The audience begins to understand that Roxane has fallen in love with Cyrano and his words. Although the audience recognizes this, Cyrano cannot see the truth past his nose.
• Literary Focus– Symbols
• Cyrano is symbolic of the strength and
importance of inner beauty
• Christian is symbolic of outer (physical) beauty
• The letters Cyrano writes are symbolic of Christian’s failure to express himself adequately and Cyrano’s failure to express himself in action
• Literary Focus– Symbols • Cyrano’s nose is the
most prominent symbol in the play.
– It is representative of society’s inability to look past outer beauty to see beauty within
– It is representative of a barrier to his love Roxane: he doesn’t have the confidence to pursue her and he is reminded of his physical shortcoming every time he opens his eyes
• Literary Focus– Themes and Conflicts
– Inner vs. Outer Beauty
– Moral code and principles
– Honor and Integrity
– Pursuit of Love
– Bravery and Virtue
– Loyalty and Sacrifice
– Friendship
– Search for Self-Confidence and Self-Acceptance
Overview: a love triangle
• Overview • The play centers around a swordsman named Cyrano de Bergerac who is as deadly with his tongue as he is with his sword
• Despite his great skill with words and metal, he is handicapped with a grotesquely large and ugly nose
• Overview • His nose is the main reason for Cyrano’s only real weakness: the lack of confidence he feels when it comes to matters of the heart
• Cyrano is deeply in love with a woman named Roxane, but because he is so ugly he thinks he is beneath her
• Roxane, in turn, tells Cyrano she is in love with one of Cyrano’s cadets, Baron Christian de Neuvillette
• Overview • Cyrano tells Christian of Roxane’s love, but Christian then become distraught because he feels he lacks the poetry and eloquence to woo a woman of Roxane’s caliber
• Cyrano’s bright idea is what spurs on the rest of the action: Cyrano will write letters to Roxane pretending to be Christian.
Main Characters to Know
• Cyrano de Bergerac • The protagonist
• Talented with words and his sword
• Member of the Cadets of Gascyne (royal guards)
• Confident in almost all things except for love because of his ugly, long nose
• Roxane • Beautiful and Intellectual
• Appreciate Cyrano’s vast wit and loves poetry
• Initially falls in love with Christian because of his good looks
• Christian • Falls in love with Roxane
• While he possesses the beauty Cyrano lacks, he does not have any of Cyrano’s inherent wit and charm
• He is an honorable person and wants Roxane to be happy
• Comte de Guiche • The play’s antagonist
• In love with Roxane and strongly dislikes Cyrano
• Tries to have Cyrano killed on several occasions throughout the play