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Tonight’s Presentation Includes: 1. Antony and Cleopatra (Act 1, Scene 3), by William Shakespeare 2. “I loved you first: but afterwards my love” by Christina Rossetti 3. Norna; or, The Witch’s Curse from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 4. “Love’s Philosophy” by Percy Bysshe Shelley 5. Cyrano de Bergerac (Act 5, Scene 6) by Edmond Rostand Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra The Story So Far: Mark Antony—the same Mark Antony from Julius Caesar—has become one of the three leaders of the Roman Republic, along with Octavius Caesar and Lepidus. He governs over the parts of the Roman empire that encompasses the Northern Mediterranean and, as such, has taken up residence in Egypt, where he has fallen in love with the Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra. His love has caused him to neglect Rome's domestic problems. While he is in Egypt, Antony’s wife Fulvia, thinking Antony should be the sole ruler of Rome, joins forces with Antony’s brother to Period Bust of Mark Antony rebel against Octavius. Shortly after their Circa 43-30 BCE rebellion is quashed, Fulvia dies. Octavius calls Antony back to Rome from AleXandria to help him fight against SeXtus Pompey, Menecrates, and Menas, three notorious pirates of the Mediterranean. Enobarbus tells Antony that if he leaves, Cleopatra will die from his absence. Antony goes himself to tell Cleopatra why he must return to Rome… Did you Know…? In 2008, Dominican attorney Kathleen Martinez funded and led, in partnership with the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, found artifacts at the Taposiris Magna Temple near The Berlin Cleopatra AleXandria that led them to believe the A Roman-made bust of temple contained the tomb of Antony Cleopatra circa 46-40 BCE and Cleopatra. The expedition is ongoing. Christina Rossetti Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) is one of the most famous English poets of the 19th century. Her work was first published at the age of 18, and her most famous work, Goblin Market and Other Poems was published at the age of 31 to widespread critical acclaim. She published nine collections of poetry during her lifetime, and her works were collected in a single volume in 1904. “I loved you first: but afterwards my love” is Sonnet #4 of a 14-sonnet sequence titled “Monna Innominata: A Sonnet of Sonnets.” The piece was first published in A Pageant and Other Poems (London: Macmillan, 1881). A portrait of Christina Rossetti by her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti Did You Know…? Christina Rossetti’s poem “In the Bleak Midwinter” was made into a popular Christmas carol in 1906 by Gustav Holst. The poem is quoted throughout the BBC TV Series Peaky Blinders. Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women Background: Little Women is a coming-of-age novel by Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. The story chronicles the lives of the four March sisters: Josephine (Jo), Margaret (Meg), Elizabeth (Beth), and Amy as they transition from childhood to adulthood. During the course of the novel, the central character, Jo, is a promising young author who eventually receives a publication contract for her novel. Prior to her becoming a professional writer, she and her sister Meg would write plays for the sisters to perform in the barn. Family photos of Anna Bronson Alcott and This scene is from one of those Louisa May Alcott plays, Norna; or, The Witch’s Curse, which is performed in chapter one. The play is one of siX plays written and performed by Louisa May Alcott and her sister, Anna Bronson Alcott Pratt, as children. After Alcott’s passing, the Robert Brothers collected and published the siX plays in a book titled Comic Tragedies: Written by “Jo” and “Meg” and acted by “The Little Women” in 1893. Little Women has been adapted for film no fewer than six times. The various film versions have starred Hollywood stars such as: Katharine Hepburn (1933); Elizabeth Taylor and June Allyson (1949); Winona Ryder, Susan Did you know…? Sarandon, Claire Danes, and Kirsten Marian de Forest first adapted Little Dunst (1994); and Saoirse Ronan, Women for the Broadway stage in 1912. The first film version is a silent movie from Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Laura 1917 that is now lost. Dern, and Meryl Streep (2019). Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) is widely considered among the most important, and radical, of the English Romantic poets. He advocated for the abolition of marriage in favor of free love, was an avowed atheist, and wrote in favor of income equality and for the end of clerical privilege. Because of his political and religious views, much of his work was not published during his lifetime, and he found himself under surveillance by the Home Office on multiple occasions. It was not until after his death in a boating accident in 1822 that he achieved Portrait of Shelley widespread notoriety. by Alfred Clint (1829) Love’s Philosophy is a poem published in 1819. Originally appearing in James Henry Leigh Hunt’s journal, The Indicator, the poem also appears in the 1824 collection, Posthumous Poems. Did You Know…? James Bieri, a famous biographer of Percy Shelley, attributes much of Percy Shelley’s posthumous fame to his wife, Mary Shelly (of Frankenstein fame). After Percy’s death, Mary edited his poems to highlight his “lyrical gifts and downplay his radical ideas.” His two bestselling volumes of poetry, published in 1824 and 1839, were both edited by Mary Shelley. Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac The Story So Far: In Paris, in the year 1640, a brilliant poet and swordsman named Cyrano de Bergerac finds himself deeply in love with his beautiful, intellectual cousin RoXane, but his large nose leaves him insecure and believing himself too ugly for Roxane. After a fracas at the theatre, Cyrano meets RoXane, and she confides in him that she loves a young nobleman named Christian, who will soon join Cyrano’s company of guards, the Cadets of Gascoyne. Cyrano tells Christian about RoXane’s feelings. Christian, a simple, unpoetic man, considers himself unworthy of the intellectual Roxane’s love. Then Cyrano has a bright idea: Cyrano can write to RoXane, pretending to be Christian, allowing Christian to woo RoXane while Cyrano gets to secretly express him feelings. Cyrano’s disguised letters move RoXane, and Christian tells Cyrano he no longer wants his help. Christian then Constant Coquelin as Cyrano makes a fool of himself trying to speak seductively to in the original 1897 Roxane. Thinking quickly, Cyrano makes Christian stand production of Cyrano de in front of RoXane’s balcony and speak to her while Bergerac at Théâtre de la Cyrano stands under the balcony whispering to Christian Porte Saint-Martin. what to say. Cyrano’s plan works, and RoXane and Christian are married secretly, but their happiness is short-lived: the Cadets of Gascoyne are sent to the front lines of the war with Spain. At the siege of Arras, Cyrano risks his life to sneak through the Spanish lines to send letters to Roxane every single day, using Christian’s name. Without warning, a coach arrives and RoXane climbs out of it. She has longed to see Christian again. But Christian has guessed Cyrano’s secret feelings for RoXane, and he forces Cyrano to tell her the truth and make her choose between them. On the cusp of revealing his feelings, the Spanish attack, and Cyrano is interrupted by a sudden gunshot that kills Christian. RoXane faints and Cyrano never reveals the truth. An engraving of the real Fifteen years later, RoXane lives in a convent, and Sivinien Cyrano de Cyrano visits her every week… Bergerac, after a portrait by Zacharie Heince, circa 1650. Did You Know…? The real Cyrano was quite proud of his large nose, once writing: "A great nose is the mark of a witty, courteous, affable, generous, and liberal man; and a little nose is a sign of the contrary." .

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