Cyrano de bergerac

1. Cyrano de bergerac

2. Cyrano de bergerac • Real life French Dramatist 1619-1655 • Edmond Rostand fictionalized his life story into the play Cyrano de Bergerac in 1897 • The play concentrates on Cyrano’s love for Roxanne and his attempts to woo her through his friend Christian

3. The play • Markedly different than every other play of its time in France • Most plays were realistic in nature and addressed social problems (illness, crime, poverty) • Before the production of the play rumors spread of his play • Parisian fans of the time did not think the material would be sophisticated enough for a French audience • At this time France was at its height in industrialization • Rostand’s new play about romantic heroes, the power of poetry and art seemed hopelessly out of date

4. SO when the curtain rose on its debut expectations were low… • It was a hit! • The audience fell in love with the witty, romantic comedy. They cheered at his triumph’s and sighed at his suffering. To this day audience’s all around the world fall in love with Cyrano and his own infectious ideas of love. <3

5. Where in the world is cyrano? • 17th century France • France was fraught with political tension and conflict with foreign enemies • France was involved in the Thirty Years War, a religious, economic, military struggle • One key battle of this long war was the French siege of the town of Arras, in which the real Cyrano took part. The siege is also the setting for one of the scenes in the play, in which the fictional Cyrano takes part.

6. Basic synopsis Cyrano de Bergerac is a proud and courageous Gascon nobleman. He is known for his intellect, brilliant wit, fluency of speech, and swordsmanship. He is also known for his large, grotesque nose. Because he feels that he is very unattractive, he is convinced that no woman will ever love him, especially not one as beautiful as his cousin Roxane. Since he feels he cannot have Roxane for himself, he agrees to help Christian de Neuvillette court Roxane. Although Christian is very handsome, he is not very bright and has no way with words. Therefore, Cyrano agrees to coach him on what to say to Roxane in order to win her love.

7. important characters • Cyrano de Bergerac – Gascon nobleman • Roxane- Cyrano’s cousin and the one who holds his heart • Christian de Neuvillete- Handsome young man. Cyrano professes his love for Roxane through Christian • Count de Guiche- deceitful nobleman who is a complete contrast to Cyrano. Even though he is married he seeks a way to become involved with Roxane • Le Bret- one of Cyrano’s closest friends • Ragueneau- Pastry chef and poet. His bakery is the meeting place of poets who regularly exploit the baker’s kindness and generosity • Lise- Ragueneau’s wife • Carbon de Castel Jaloux- the captain of the Gascon cadets • Ligniere- a poet who often drinks too much • Montfleury- an actor, he antagonizes Cyrano by flirting with Roxane

8. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder Cyrano’s large nose prevents him from believing that anyone could ever love him. How important is beauty in our society today and what is beauty?

9. Lets play a game….. Which person do you think Ms. Ellis finds the most attractive in the following slides?

10. Brad pitt

11. Ryan reynolds

12. seal

13. Hugh jackman

14. Trick question…. They’re all attractive But there is one person I find the most attractive Who is it and why? Remember… there must be some set of aesthetic values

15. What is beauty? • What determines beauty? • What do we take into consideration? • Are there different kinds of beauty? • Write down your own, personal definition of beauty

16. This theme will be prevalent throughout the book, so please keep these ideas in mind as we put ourselves in each character’s shoes.