Cyrano de Bergerac

1. Cyrano de Bergerac Review after Act 3

2. What has happened so far? Act 1 • We meet the main players • Love triangle (Christian, Roxane and Cyrano) (love vs lust) • Cyrano is introduced by others telling us about all his great attributes (a poet, great swordsmen, great cadet, big nose, etc) • Cyrano shuts down the play, returns the money to the crowd (grand gestures) • Learn of Cyrano’s insecurities about his nose (duel of words and sword with Valvert) • Cyrano battles 100 men (honour, grand gestures)

3. What has happened so far? Act 2 • We learn Roxane loves Christian • We learn that Cyrano and Roxane have had a close friendship all their lives and know each other well • Christian and Roxane have never spoken (love, lust, beauty) • Cyrano promises Roxane he will take care of Christian (honour) • Cyrano and Christian come up with a plan – one will be the brains and the other the beauty (deception) • Le Bret tells Cyrano to stop being 3 musketeers in one, Cyrano responds that he likes making enemies (pride and honour)

4. What has happened so far? Act 3 • Roxane admits to Cyrano that she loves Christian for his mind • They discuss love • Christian tries to speak for himself but cannot adequately express himself • The balcony scene: Cyrano speaks under the cloak of darkness • De Guiche sends the men to war—tells Roxane first—she lies to him to try to keep them home • De Guiche sends a letter –Roxane reads it and lies about the content and as a result she and Christian are married

5. What should we be thinking about? • What is the impact of the lies/deceptions told by each character (Roxane, Christian, Cyrano)? • What message do we receive about love? • Who is the most honourable character? Why? • Does Cyrano actually live the honourable life he claimed to in Act 1? • Are the characters who act courageously also cowards? • How does one’s insecurities influence their lives

6. Final Note Cyrano de Bergerac: Characters, Symbols, & Big Ideas

7. Cyrano • - Courageous, poetic, witty and eloquent. • -Acts according to his uncompromising sense of values and morals. • -Pursue honor . • -Many enemies: his lack of self confidence is his greatest enemy. • -Is ever committed to Roxane.

8. Roxane • - Everyone revolves around her as they are all trying to win her love or are affected by others trying to win her love. • -She has one major shift—she admits she used to love Christian for his looks, but now loves him for his soul—this impacts the remainder of the play and the audiences perspective.

9. De Guiche • -For the most part of the play he is a coward whose troops do not respect. • -He is a symbol for misguided leadership/power. • -Shift: does lead the French into battle at the end—one moment of courage.

10. Christian • -Cyrano’s spokesman • -He is much more simple than Cyrano • -He represents the shallowness of outer beauty

11. Symbols • Cyrano’s Nose: -A symbol for his lack of confidence- his flaw-Societies reliance on outer beauty • Christian’s Blood and Cyrano’s Tears on the letter: -The melding of these two characters to create the romantic hero • The White Plume: -Courage, Loyalty and Honor

12. Many opposites are paired together: • -Beautiful/Ugly • -Courage/Coward • - Physical/inner beauty • -Brains/Brawn • -Battles/Love • -Christian/Cyrano • -Act1/Act5 (Both introduce Cyrano through others)

13. Discussion Questions Think about these while we read: • Is Cyrano a hero? • How do secrets shape a life? • Who do lies effect the most? • Cyrano created a life based on deceit. He lived his life behind a curtain of lies, which dictated the many of his actions. What did his lies cost him? • How does a persons lack of self awareness prevent him/her from seeing the truth? • What impact does one’s insecurities have on his/her life? • What is true love? • What message does Rostand provide us about the following topics: -Courage -Love -Beauty -Truth-Honour