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=//Cyrano de Bergerac//: Edmond Rostand=

Edmond Rostand's masterpiece, **//Cyrano de Bergerac//**, was published in 1897. This groundbreaking piece of literature has become a staple piece translated many times into English, the two most famous by Anthony Burgess and Brian Hooker. The play is written in a rhyming couplet format with twelve syllables per line, although many of the translations do not follow this format. toc =About the Author...=


 * Edmond Rostand** was a great poet and dramatist from France. He grew up in a wealthy family where his father was an economist and had a taste for poetry. Rostand had a lot of pressure from his father to go into law school, but he found a love for poetry and literature while studying at the College Stanislas. He ended up majoring in literature, history, and philosophy. Rostand then went on to produce his first play in 1894 and then went on to be the youngest member of the French Academy when he was elected in 1901.

=Background Information=

The Language
French is one of the romantic languages, along with many other European based languages like Spanish and Italian. Even though French is considered "The language of love", this is not the origin of it being a romantic language. This literally means they have a Roman origin and many Latin roots (the word roman means "from Latin".)

The Time Period
Rostand wrote romantic literature in a time period where most play-goers had moved on to the popular realist movement. In order for a swashbuckling hero fighting for love and honor to be popular during this time period, Rostand had to put a realist spin on the regular Romantic style. Rostand added characters who brought different sides to the cliche "romantic hero" found in many romantic plays and stories. The major conflict stems from a issue with reality, rather than a problem in a romantic relationship. //Cyrano de Bergerac// is considered by many a realist drama with romantic decorations rather than a romantic piece of literature. =The Characters=

Cyrano
Cyrano is considered the protagonist and half of the "romantic hero" of the play. Many would consider him a prodigy as he is a writer, swordsman, musician, and soldier. He battles a man and composes a poem at the same time, and protected a friend from an attack from an army of one hundred men. Cyrano has many morals which he fights for and will not compromise, making him extremely amiable to the reader. On the other hand, his bellicose attitude creates many enemies for him throughout the story, which doesn't seem to bother him one bit. Cyrano's only weakness may be his low self-esteem, brought on him by his cursed appearance of a large nose. This insecurity creates many issues for him in achieving his greatest goal: the love of his cousin Roxane. Wearing two faces, many see him in public as a hero and a great man, but when he examines himself in private Cyrano sees himself as flawed and unable to be liked by anybody. This "curse" that only Cyrano finds for himself becomes his own demise when he professes his love for Roxane only in his dying moments.

Christian
Christian is the other half of the "romantic hero" found in the play. He acts as a spokesperson for Cyrano in his relationship with Roxane, because Christian caught Roxane's attention first. He is a very attractive man, but only has that much going for him as he lacks the eloquence and intelligence that Cyrano has. Christian is a much more simple and shallow character than Cyrano, which is seen through the plainness of his motivation and intentions.

Roxane
Roxane is the diamond in the rough for many men in Paris, France during this time period. She is a very attractive woman, and because of this she gains the attention of any man who decides to look her way. Roxane comes off in a ditsy manner, falling in love with men only because of their appearance. She is easily characterized as a stupid woman by the reader very early in the story, but as the play continues she progressively reveals that she is truly intelligent through her choice of inner beauty over outer beauty.

Comte de Guiche
De Guiche characterizes himself early as the antagonist of the story. He has attained a very high position as a leader of the French army, although many of his troops do not respect him. He is a grumpy, vengeful, angry man who isn't afraid to take his problems out on somebody else. This is shown through his multiple attacks on Cyrano's life, and his audacity to admit his attempts. De Guiche is considered the opposite of Cyrano, showing all that comes out of using talents for selfish ambition and vain conceit.

=Settings=

The majority of //Cyrano de Bergerac// takes place in the city of Paris, France. There couldn't be a more perfect place to showcase all of the grandiose events of the play than this city. It certainly is a conducive environment for the swashbuckling action that characters become involved with. The greatness of the city even appears through Rostand's tone. While the characters inhabit the city, they have this invincible attitude. They walk the streets unashamed of their actions, and aren't afraid of what could be lying around the corner. Rostand's writing makes Paris appear as a great place to live, when in reality it's quite the opposite. The amount of crime found in the makes this city quite dangerous rather than appealing.

When the characters get sent to war, a whole new feeling of hopelessness and anger is evoked. The characters are starvingand losing their battles as we find them in Arras, France. Here, all of the grandiose and glory we once saw has been lost, and even Rostand's writing shifts to a more somber mood. The two contrasting settings bring different views on the experiences of life, even though people were dying in the streets of Paris. This proves that different circumstances evoke different emotions. =Symbols=

White Plume
In war, many countries carry a symbol of their home. This can be a scarf, a flag, or any other object that can be carried into battle by a soldier. In France in the 19th century, their symbol of honor was a white plume that the commanding officer was supposed to carry into battle. Many armies knew of this and would target the carrier of the plume first, in order to lessen morale among the rest of the French cadets. In //Cyrano de Bergerac,// De Guiche was chosen to carry this plume, and in order to save himself during battle he dropped the plume to the ground. Cyrano then went to retrieve it, which is symbolic of his leadership qualities and reveals the true scumbag that De Guiche is.

Refrences
1. "SparkNote on Cyrano De Bergerac." //SparkNotes//. SparkNotes LLC, 13 Apr. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. [].

2. Lawless, Laura K. "Introduction to French - Basic Information about French Language and Linguistics." //Free French Lessons - Learn French at About - Learn, Speak, Teach French - How to Speak French//. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. [].

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