Edmond Rostand's Cyrano De Bergerac

In Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, the main character Cyrano is claimed by multiple literary critics to be depicted in a tragic situation or a comedic play. Many critics believe that the historical play is intended to serve comedic purposes because the story ends happily and successful for Cyrano, following the accepted definition of a comedy. Throughout the five act play, many feel that Cyrano is portrayed as unhappy by Rostand, in order to support their claim that the play is a tragedy; however, this argument is countered by the major shift that occurs between the third and fourth acts. In addition, the playwright Rostand hints at multiple arguments supporting the claim that Cyrano de Bergerac is in fact a comedy rather than a tragedy.

Beginning with the opening Act, the comedic cues of the work are represented through Cyrano’s witty quarrel with Valvert, the assistant to Cyrano’s nemesis, De Guiche. As the somewhat minor character bombards the protagonist with seemingly simple insults, calling his nose “rather large.” (Rostand 30) After Valvert’s meaningless efforts to anger Cyrano, the main character treats this as a challenging joke, coming up with twenty much wittier insults about his own abnormally sized nose, exposing the comic qualities that would later be defined in the other acts. The opening scene reveals to the reader how Cyrano directly demonstrates the definition of a comedy, or a story that treats situations and characters in a humorous rather than serious manner. Cyrano’s reaction in coming up with better insults about himself show his comical qualities, conforming to the type of play Rostand wrote. After the observers of the quarrel between Cyrano and Valvert have deserted the theater, the readers are informed through a conversation that Cyrano is going to fight 100 men. Although this seems to be near-impossible to do, De Guiche, the one who sent the forces, is proven wrong as Cyrano defeats the mob single-handedly, portraying the success needed to make the play comic.
During Act III, many important events occur that are essential to the argument that the play is in fact a comedy.

In a part much like the balcony scene from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Cyrano truthfully confesses his love for Roxanne, while pretending to be Christian, which is why some critics deem his efforts to be unsuccessful and proving the play to be tragedy. Although this may seem like a failure on Cyrano’s part, he is still able to successfully express how he feels and professes his love, countering the claim that the play is a tragedy and proving its comic elements. Later in Act III, while attempting to stall De Guiche from ruining Roxanne’s hasty wedding with Christian, Cyrano begins to speak about absurd things to distract the antagonist, introducing a lighter and more humorous feel to the scene. This is another scene debated by many critics, as a contrast of tragic and comic elements are used by Rostand, but the comedic aspects overpower the tragedy. While the love of his life is marrying another man, Cyrano is genuinely happy for their happiness and the success of his love letters in the formation of the pair’s relationship. Despite any unhappiness about their love, he takes a comic spin on protecting them from De Guiche and succeeds in the goal of keeping him out of the house for long enough so that the two could marry peacefully. At the end of the third act, while the cadets are depicted as going off to war, Roxanne asks Cyrano to make Christian write letters to her everyday, which he promises because he can succeed at doing so for the woman he loves, portraying the comic aspects of success in the

protagonist.
Surrounded by the most controversy over the comedy or tragedy debate, the major turning point of the play happens closer to the end of the fourth act and has an impact for the rest of the plotline. After weeks of starving at the Siege of Arras, Roxanne comes bearing a wagon of food and some words that create an unsettling atmosphere for Christian, with benefits Cyrano. When Christian tells Cyrano that Roxanne “only loves [his] soul,” (163) this fills Cyrano with joy, as he has been successful in his overall mission: to make Roxanne fall in love with him for his poetry and soulful writing through Christian, proving the play follow the definition of a comedy. Although proved through many examples of its comic nature, many critics use this scene as a justification for why the play is a tragedy, because Cyrano does not successfully reveal his feelings to Roxanne because of the death of Christian. After the death, Cyrano does not believe it is morally right to give the truth to Roxanne, meaning that he does not succeed, making the play tragic; however, the play’s resolution in the last act counters those claims through the interactions fifteen years after Christian’s death. With his last minutes, Cyrano visits Roxanne only to recite Christian’s dying letter by memory, proving to Roxanne that it was him who wrote all the love letters are who she loved, a somewhat happy realization for Cyrano. She professes her love to him and within minutes, he passes away. While he dies, resembling an unhappy and tragic ending, Cyrano dies happy, knowing that he had succeeded in his goal to get Roxanne to love him and because of this Cyrano de Bergerac is viewed by many as a comedy rather than a tragedy.
Cyrano de Bergerac is an extremely complex play that provokes many varying viewpoints and criticisms from readers of different backgrounds. Although some literary critics many argue that the play is tragic, Cyrano ultimately succeeds in his goal of getting Roxanne to fall in love with him for his soul and heart rather that how he looks. He also constantly makes light of his death throughout the last act by saying he has a “friend” waiting for im when he gets home from visiting Roxanne. This joke is very similar to others scattered all around the play, proving the story to be humorous in light of serious topics. The protagonist also ends the story happily, dying knowing of the love for him from friends, family, and the love of his life, Roxanne. These pieces of evidence all over the play directly relate back to the definition of a comedy and this is why the play is considered comic and not tragic.