Cyrano de Bergerac Lecture Notes

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Cyrano de BergeracLecture Notes

• Literary Periods/Classification
• Characters
• Historical Background
• Cyrano de Bergerac
• Edmond Rostand
• Theme and Irony
• Literary Terms

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Victorian/Neoclassicism

• straight laced
• no frills
• cold
• dreary
• tradition

• society urban
• conformist
• constraint
• intellect/reason
• clear/logical

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Medieval/Romanticism

• individual
• rural
• imagination
• mysterious/super-natural
• independent
• spontaneitywildfree

• brave hero, noble
• adventure exuberance
• idealized women love
• chivalry
• experiment

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Characters

• Cyrano- one of the best swordsmen in France
  courageous, intellectual, talented, noble,
  enormous nose, loves Roxane

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Characters

• Christian- handsome soldier, honest,
  inarticulate, loves Roxane
• Comte de Guiche- villain, wants Roxane as
  mistress, powerful, arrogant
• Ragueneau- tavern keeper pastry cook loves
  gallant gestures, the bravado of the soldier,
  sensitivity of poet, utility character
• Le Bret- close friend of Cyranos

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Characters

• The Cadets and Carbon- friends and fellow
  soldiers in the Carbon de Castel-Jaloux (Gascony
  guard) with Cyrano
• Ligniere- poet, heavy drinker
• Vicomte de Valvert- a precieuse who comments on
  Cyranos big nose duels with him in Act I and
  stabbed
• Monfluery- an actor threatened by Cyrano one of
  Roxanes suitors
• Bellerose and Jodelet- manager and comedian in
  the theater

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Characters

• Cuigy and Brissaille- friends of Cyrano
• Meddler- says Cyranos nose is miniscule when
  he gets in trouble
• Musketeer- flirts with Lise and ends up running
  off with her
• Cut-purse- a pick pocket who is caught by
  Christian and tells him about the plot against
  Ligniere

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Characters

• Capuchin- delivers the letter from Comte de
  Guiche to Roxane and marries Roxane and Christian
  (monk or priest)
• Roxane- a beautiful girl, cousin to Cyrano ,
  orphan, in love with Christians beauty and
  Cyranos mind, a precieuse (attitude prevalent in
  17th century, what a person appeared to be was
  more important than what they really were)

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Cyrano, Christian, Roxane
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Characters

• Duenna - nurse or servant to Roxane
• Lise- wife of Ragueneau, she has more business
  sense and less love of poetry than her husband
• The Orange Girl- sells refreshments in the play
• Mother Margerite, Sister Martha, Sister Claire-
  Mother Superior and the nuns where Roxane goes to
  live

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Historical Background

• CYRANO DE BERGERAC
  (Savinien de Bergerac 1619-1655)
• REAL PERSON
• French soldier
• dramatist poet novelist
• BORN IN PERIGORD OR PARIS
• EDUCATED
• by country priest as youth
• College Beauvias until 19

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History continued...

• MILITARY
• joined royal guards commanded by Carbon de
  Castel-Jalous
• wounded 1639 at Mouzon, recovered
• joined Prince de Contis regiment
• wounded at Arras
• gave up military to study literature and
  philosophy

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History continued...

• NOSE
• large, ugly
• so sensitive about it, challenged anyone looked
• killed at least 10 men in duels
• nose became even more disfigured by cuts

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History continued...

• WROTE
• Le Pendant Joue (The Tricked Pendant) satire
• influenced Molieres play TheTricks of Scarpin
• Moliere stole two scenes
• The Death Of Agrippa influenced playwright
  Corneille
• The Comic History of the Stars Empires of the
  Moon
• fantastic fictions (seminal science fiction)
• influenced Jonathan Swifts Gullivers Travels

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Cyrano Side View
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History continued...

• Real friend Le Bret wrote he was unselfish,
  chaste, sober
• A Renaissance man dashing, courageous,
  gallant, and intellectual
• An ultimate idealist true to himself merely
  for the sake of being true to himself he never
  loses sight of reality or expects his quixotic
  behavior to be rewarded in any worldly way

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History continued...

• EDMOND ROSTAND (1868-1918)
• Born in Marseilles, France
• Education in law - interest in poetry
• At 22, married poet Rosemond Gerard and
  presented his first book - a volume of poems - to
  her.
• 1894 - First play Les Romanesques (about two
  young lovers)
• 1895 - La Princesse Lointaine written for famous
  French actress Sarah Bernhardt- most critics
  didnt like it because a minor character was
  Christ

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History continued...

• 1859 Cyrano de Bergerac -set late 1640s, 50s
• Theme - the making of a style out of despair
  conflict between what appears to be and what is
• LArglon
• about Napoleons heir - too French for foreign
  audiences because foreigners did not revere
  Napoleon as much as the French
• Rostand moved to country for ten years to write
• Chantecler - received some acclaim
• Rostand elected to French Academy at 33 -
  youngest member
• Rostand was never robust - died Dec. 2, 1918

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History continued...

• THEME and IRONY
• closely tied together since play deals with the
  conflict between appearance and truth APPEARANCE
  IS NOT ALWAYS TRUTH, AND TRUTH IS NOT ALWAYS
  CLOTHED IN APPROPRIATE APPEARANCES - universal,
  eternal theme
• despair present, but handled lightly

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History continued...

• VIRTUOSO
• written to exploit the talents of a particular
  actor (Constant Coquelin in Cyrano)
• ROMANTIC
• treatment of theme which may be sentimental,
  idealistic rather than realistic.
• Free exuberance is a characteristic.

• STYLE
• PANACHE
• literally white plume
• symbolically
• swashbuckling
• superiority
• courage
• pride
• swagger enemies
• ones very soul

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THE END