Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand Introduction adapted from http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/cyrano.pdf and http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=3794&showpreview=1 and http://www.bard. org/education/studyguides/Cyrano/bergeracsyn.html#.U0HfNOddXmU Themes to Look For: • Inner Qualities vs. Outer Beauty • Self Confidence vs. Self Doubt • Love • What society values vs. what the individual values Consider the following advertisements and determine what “inner” qualities the ad makers are connecting to the product they are selling. Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Cyrano de Bergerac The play we’re about to read is about these same things, even though it was written in 1897. Let’s look at two advertisements from the 1890s and consider what inner qualities the ad creators were going for: Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Act I Synopsis It is an exciting night at the theatre. The evening’s play has not yet begun but the audience is arriving. Fig. 7 A handsome but doltish gentleman,Christian, anxiously looks for the woman he has fallen in love with, Roxane. Fig. 8 Fig. 9 (Christian is in with Roxane but fears he will never have the courage to speak with her.) Others in the audience are awaiting the arrival of Cyrano de Bergerac because the actor Montfleury, Cyrano’s enemy and one of Roxane’s suitors, is to star in the play, and Cyrano had threatened him with bodily injury if he appeared. Ragueneau, a pastry chef, arrives looking for his friend Cyrano de Bergerac. Fig. 10 Cyrano, known for his skill with a sword and his sensitivity about his large nose, is Roxane’s cousin. When the play begins and Montfleury enters, Cyrano arrives and successfully threatens Montfleury off stage. Fig. 11 Valvert, another of Roxane’s suitors and a nobleman, mocks Cyrano’s nose. Cyrano, who is sensitive about his large nose, challenges him to a duel. To show contempt for his adversary, he composes a ballad while he is sparring, and with the last line draws blood. Fig. 12 •Once the commotion has ended, Cyrano confesses to a friend that he loves Roxane, despite having no hope of gaining her love because of his ugliness. •Then, Roxane’s chaperone interrupts with a note from Roxane saying that she wants to meet Cyrano the next morning at 7 a.m. •Cyrano then learns that his friend, Lignière, is being ambushed so Cyrano leaves to protect him. Meet the author: Edmond Rostand (1868-1918) Fig. 13 About Edmond Rostand Rostand spent his childhood in Marseilles. He was born to an artistic family: his father was a poet and professor and his uncle was a composer. Rostand was a brilliant student and, under pressure from his father, studied law in Paris. His real love was literature, however, and he began to write plays and poems. Cyrano de Bergerac His masterpiece, Cyrano de Bergerac, was written and first performed onstage in Paris in 1897. It was very different than most plays of the day; it wasn’t realism; it harked back to the romanticism of an earlier time. Fig. 14 In fact, until the opening night of the play, expectations for Cyrano de Bergerac were dim. But the audience was swept away by Rostand’s wordplay and wit, and sympathized with Cyrano’s sufferings and cheered his triumphs. Fig. 15 Theater de la Porte St. Martin in Paris, where Cyrano de Bergerac was first performed. A full hour after the curtain fell, the audience was still applauding thunderously. The setting • France, 1640-1655 • Louis XIII is on the throne, with advisor Richelieu (a Roman Catholic cardinal) dominating the political scene. • The Thirty Years’ War is raging until 1648; as a result of the war, France becomes Europe’s leading power. Who is Cyrano? Cyrano de Bergerac is a nobleman serving as a soldier in the French Army. He is a brash, strong-willed man, a gifted poet, and a brilliant swordsman. However, he also has an extremely large nose, which is the reason for his own self-doubt. This doubt prevents him from expressing his love for his distant cousin, the beautiful Roxane. Fig. 16 About Cyrano Rostand’s hero is based on a real-life person named Cyrano, who was born in 1619. A castle owned by his father was called Bergerac. The historical Cyrano did, in fact, come under the influence of his beautiful and intelligent cousin, Madeleine Robineau, who was married to the Count de Neuvillette. It is not known whether Cyrano was in love with his cousin, but she did help him become a member of Parisian high society. Like his fictional counterpart, Cyrano was well known for his skill in dueling and his inordinately long nose. He also fought at the siege of Arras in 1640. There, he coached his comrades on how to speak and write effectively, especially on matters of love. On his return to Paris, he began a career as a largely satirical author and well-known freethinker. He wrote a tale about an imaginary trip to the moon and dabbled in science. An accident took his life when he was only 36. Swashbuckler ‘Swashbuckler’ is a term used to describe a story with colorful sword-fighting characters. In film, as well as in literature, there is a whole genre of swashbucklers, including the movie versions of Cyrano de Bergerac, Macbeth, The Man in the Iron Mask, and Shakespeare in Love. The word itself was first used in 1560 to describe a swordsman who struck an opponent’s shield, or buckler, with his sword. Panache Fig. 17 • A word of French origin that carries the connotation of flamboyant manner and reckless courage. • The literal translation is a plume, such as is worn on a hat or a helmet. • Panache is now used to describe someone who has a dashing confidence of style, or shows a certain flamboyance and courage, and is now a familiar word in English. 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