English 10: Multicultural Literature

1. English 10: Multicultural Literature Cyrano de Bergerac

2. Cyrano de Bergerac [1897]

3. Background Information • One of the most popular plays of the modern French theater. • Classified as a tragicomedy.

4. Background Information... • Based upon the life of the free-thinking, 17th century author Cyrano de Bergerac • Equally well-known for his great skill in duels and for his inordinately long nose.

5. -Tragicomedy- • An incident or situation having both comic and tragic elements • A drama combining elements of tragedy and comedy

6. Vocabulary to Know.... • Theme • Conflict • Dramatic Structure • Characterization • Archetype

7. Author: Edmond Rostand

8. Edmond Rostand [1868-1918] • French poet and playwright • First published a volume of poetry but gained fame as a writer of entertaining poetic plays. • He gained immediate fame for his compassionate portrayal of this poet-lover.

9. -Character list-

10. -Cyrano-

11. Cyrano • Poet, swordsman, scientist, playwright, musician, and member of the Cadets of Gascoyne, a company of guards from Southern France. • For all his prodigious talents, Cyrano is unattractive, cursed with a ridiculously long nose that makes him insecure and keeps him from revealing his love for his cousin Roxane.

12. -Roxane- Cyrano’s cousin, a beautiful and intellectual heiress. She has a soft spot for romance and a love for poetry and wit

13. -The Duenna- • Roxane’s companion and chaperone,who tries to keep Roxane out of trouble. She is a character reminiscent of Juliet’s nurse in Romeo and Juliet.

14. -Christian-

15. -Christian- • Perhaps the opposite of Cyrano, Christian a handsome but simple young nobleman who lacks wit and intelligence. • New to Paris and to the cadets, he falls in love with Roxane and joins Cyrano’s company of cadets early in the play. • His good looks are matched only by Roxane’s.

16. -Comte de Guiche- A powerful, married nobleman in love with Roxane and not fond of Cyrano. Deceitful and always angry, he attempts several times to have Cyrano killed, once by a hundred men.

17. Le Bret • Cyrano’s friend and closest confidant. He is a fellow soldier and guardsman. • Le Bret worries that Cyrano’s principles will ruin his career, but Cyrano ignores Le Bret’s concerns.

18. -Ligniere- • Christian’s friend, a satirist and drunkard with many powerful enemies. • Cyrano protects him from the hundred men hired by de Guiche to ambush him.

19. -Montflury- • A fat, untalented actor whom Cyrano bans from the stage.

20. -Vicomte de Valvert - • An insolent young nobleman lauded by de Guiche as a possible husband for Roxane, a scheme that would give de Guiche access to Roxane. • After he insults Cyrano’s nose, he is defeated in an ensuing duel.

21. -Cardinal Richelieu- •  Not a character, but a historical figure referenced in the play as de Guiche’s uncle. • Perhaps the most powerful man in France, he is a skilled political manipulator whose authority rivals and probably exceeds that of the king.

22. -Capuchin- • A modest and well-meaning monk. De Guiche employs him to carry a message to Roxane. • He is diverted at first by Cyrano when they are outside Roxane’s residence. • He later presides over Roxane and Christian’s hasty wedding.

23. -Lise- • Ragueneau’s sharp-tongued wife. She does not approve of her husband’s patronage of the local poets. • An altogether unhappy woman, she leaves Ragueneau for a musketeer after Act II.

24. -Bellerose- • The man in charge of the theater at the Hotel de Bourgogne.

25. -Carbon de Castel-Jaloux- • Cyrano’s friend and the captain of his company. • He is a strong-willed and successful leader.

26. Act I: A Performance at the hotel bourgogne

27. ANALYSIS: Act I • Play is a historical romance, illustrating the glory of France during the regime of Louis XIII. • Emphasizes the importance of theater during 17th century France. • Cyrano’s late arrival creates suspense. • His late arrival separates him from the rest of the characters. His character becomes unpredictable.

28. Analysis: Act I... • Cyrano demonstrates his ability to laugh at himself and his nose. • Nose becomes one of the many characteristics that separates him from the rest • The nose becomes an extraordinary feature of the extraordinary character. • He demonstrates his courage/strength during his duel with Valvert. • The play is immediately labeled as a “heroic comedy.” • At moments, Cyrano is unreasonably tough on himself. The mood of the play is determined by Cyrano’s

29. Act ii: the bakery of poets

30. Analysis Act II • Poetry continues to play an important role within the play. • Divides Raganeau and Lise • Rageaneau risks his pastry shop’s well being when giving out pastries in return for poetry.

31. Act II.... • Cyrano continues to illustrate both great strengths and weaknesses. • Cyrano is often courageous and fearless but not when it comes to love. • During their meeting together, Cyrano believes that Roxane is referring to him until she says the word “fair.” • Viewers understand that Cyrano has convinced himself that Roxane will never love him in return. • During Act II, Cyrano has agreed to protect Christian.

32. Act II... • The remainder of this act is extremely important. • Sets up Cyrano’s plan to woo Roxane for/through Christian • Illustrates Cyrano’s extreme popularity • Bravery, wit, integrity, idealization of love and women and pursuit of glory continue to be recurring themes throughout the play. • Another important theme is inner worth vs. outward appearance. • Illustrated through opposite characters Cyrano and Christian. • Are they cowards?

33. Act iii: roxane’s kiss

34. Act III • Throughout the play, Rostand makes references to The Three Musketeers • Most of his references are overwhelmingly negative. • Cyrano is constantly having to clean up a mess made by a musketeer

35. Act III... • As Roxane praises “Christian’s” love letters, Cyrano reacts in a very humble way. • Cyrano may be proud but he is also a humble character. • The contrasts between Christaian and Cyrao’s character types continue to intensify. • Christian begins to question Cyrano’s feelings towards his cousin

36. -The fist scenes of this act illustrate Roxane as a skilled moderator. • She illustrates her powerful skills of persuasion while persuading de Guiche to forgo taking vengeance upon Cyrano.

37. Act III: The Balcony Scene • The most famous scene in the play • Scene is known for its comedic relief; begins to take on the form of dramatic irony • EX: Roxane believes Cyrano to be Christian/ de Guiche doesn’t regonize Cyrano to be the man who fell from the moon • Dramatic irony: Takes place when the audience knows more than the characters do • Ridcules the famous balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet • De Guichenow influences the plot • He decides to send Christian and Cyrano to war

38. Act IV: the cades of gascoyne

39. Act IV • The tone of the act is much different than the others. • The cadets are at war and are starving • The tensions between De Guiche and Cyrano continue to escalate • De Guiche is illustrated as a coward

40. Act IV... • Christian’s death symbolizes the death of a superficial half of the “romantic hero.” • Roxanestates that she values inner worth over outward appearance • This immediately makes Christian’s previous actions useless • Roxane loves the soul of the hero...played by Cyrano • The war parallels the emotional war between the characters • Climax of the play occurs on the battlefield

41. Act V: cyrano’s gazette

42. Act V • Famously known as the melodramatic portion of the play • Takes place 15 years after the war • Resolves Christian’s death • Setting: On an autumn day, at twilight • Symbolic because these two settings represent change, ending and death • Also symbolizes Roxane’s changing view of physical beauty

43. Act V... • Cyrano dies after being ambushed by a falling log • His death is tragic, ironic and comedic • He dies fighting his “old enemies” • Old enemies include prejudice, cowardice, compromise and vanity • Cyrano painfully realizes that his life has been full of failures and brief moments of humor

44. Act V... • Cyrano believes that his life has been largely unfulfilling despite his popularity • He never attains his goals or realizes his dreams • Roxane comes to realize Cyrano’s love for her during his last moments of life • This play, therefore, is classified as a tragedy rather than a comedy.

45. vocabulary

46. Vocabulary to Know... • Ballade • Panache • Muscatel • Zephyr • Popinjay • Eloquence • Sycophant • Bulrushes

47. Popinjay • A parrot. Used as an insult to describe someone who is over dressed.

48. Bulrushes • A wetland plant with grass-like leaves.

49. Panache • A grand or flamboyant way of acting; style; flair. Also a feather worn as a plume on a helmet or cap.

50. Ballade • Type of poem or song consisting of three stanzas of 8-10 lines, which the same line at the end of each stanza.