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Cyrano de Bergerac

Valvert: Your nose is . . . very big.

Cyrano: Yes, very.

Historical Background

The real Cyrano was born in 1619 in Paris. He did in fact have a very wealthy, beautiful, and married, cousin, but it is unknown whether he was in love with her.
Cyrano was known for his amazing swordsmanship as well as his extremely large nose.
At the siege of Arras in 1640 Cyrano coached his friends on the art of speaking as well as writing, mostly about love.
After the siege he returned to Paris where he became an author and well-known freethinker. He wrote one story about a trip to the moon. He died at the age of 36.
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/cyrano.pdf

helpful links

lots of info on the play and author
some good background info

Act I~ Cyrano runs Montfleury off of the stage at the beginning of a play because he has banned Montfleury from acting. Cyrano and Volvert duel while Cyrano composes a poem. Cyrano fights one hundred men in the street. Roxane asks to see Cyrano and he is ecstatic.

Act II~ Rageneau has several poets over for free pastries in exchange for poetry at which his wife, Lise, is outraged. Cyrano writes Roxane a love letter and awaits her arrival. When she comes, she speaks of a man she loves, Christian. Cyrano vows to protect him in the cadets. When Cyrano meets Christian, Christian decides to insult his nose. Instead of fighting him as he normally would, Cyrano divulges into a plan to woo Roxane through Christian.

Act III~ Ragenaeu tries to hang himself after Lise runs off with the musketeer, but Cyrano finds him. Roxane wishes to speak to Christian impromptu and asks Cyrano not to tell him. Christian wants to speak to her without Cyrano, but after seeing what a mess it makes he asks for Cyrano's help. Cyrano feeds Christian lines and finally just speaks for him. A capuchin comes by and Christian and Roxane are married. De Guiche hears about Christian and Roxane and sends the cadets to war.

Act IV~ Cyrano has been sending two letters a day to Roxane as Christian. The troops are starving and De Guiche arrives to inform them that they will be fighting in a battle where they will surely die. Cyrano convinces him of his cowardness and De Guich fights with the cadets. Roxane arrives and says she must be with Christian. Cyrano presents Christian with a final letter to give to Roxane which is stained with his own tear. Christian discovers that Cyrano loves Roxane, but dies in battle before telling her. Roxane finds the letter stained with Christian's blood.

Act V~Fifteen years later Roxane is in a convent. Cyrano comes to visit her every Thursday. This Thursday Cyrano has recieved an unexpected blow to the head and shouldn't leave the bed or he will die.He visits Roxane anyway and reads her the Gazette as usual. He also reads Christian's letter, though it is too dark for him to possibly read it. Roxane realizes it has been Cyrano all along though he won't admit it. Cyrano dies fighting imaginary opponents such as falsehood, cowardice, and compromise.

Author Biography Edmond Rostand was born in 1868 in France. He spent most of his childhood in Marseilles. His father was a poet as well as a professor and pressured Rostand into studying law in Paris. Literature was his true love, though, and so he began to write. After Cyrano Rostand wrote many other plays as well as poems. He moved to southern France as his health deteriorated. His awards include the Legion of Honor, an award for cultural achievement, and being elected to the French Academy. During WWI he threw himself into supporting the French effort and even visited the trenches. He died at the age of fifty, six weeks after the end of the war.http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/cyrano.pdf Major Characters

Cyrano de Bergerac- A writer and swordsman plagued by his long nose which makes him too insecure to admit his love for Roxane.

Roxane - Cyrano's beautiful cousin who is tricked by Cyrano into believing Christian is the one she loves.

Baron Christian de Neuvillette - A handsome yet unintelligent young man who falls in love with Roxane. He is new to France and joins the cadets.

Comte de Guiche - A powerful and deceitful nobleman in love with Roxane. He attempts to have Cyrano killed by a hundred men.

Ragueneau - Cyrano's friend who is a poetry loving pastry chef. He is married to Lise until she leaves him for a musketeer.

Le Bret - Cyrano's closest friend. He is also a cadet and is concerned for Cyrano's welfare.

My assessment Cyrano is a very complex and interesting character. His amazing ability to compose poetry in the middle of a duel shows how truly brilliant he is, yet his insecurity persists. Throughout his life Cyrano has experienced mockery as well as hate because of his large nose. The fact that his own mother hated him because of his nose proves how troubling his childhood must have been. Cyrano's use of Christian to get to Roxane is a sign of his insecurity. Cyrano doesn't feel that Roxane would ever love him with his hideous features, so he sacrifices his own happiness for her's. Cyrano is a very emotional person, though he would rather not show it to his opponents. Through his letters to Roxane, though, he reveals a part of him that wears his heart on his sleeve. Cyrano may seem rough and fearless to others, but in reality he is an insecure and heartfelt man.

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