Cyrano de Bergerac is set in seventeenth-century France, but written in 1897, after the decline of Romanticism in European literature. Edmond Rostand creates an intrinsically over-exaggerated and satirical romantic hero after the fall of mainstream romanticism by exploring “ … the themes of friendship, duty, sacrifice, communication, beauty and freedom, all ideal elements that would be important to the Romantic structure of the play” (Ledford 100). By rejecting the realist and naturalist movements in favor of positivism and deriving knowledge from emotion and sense perception, Rostand brings to life the unusual hero, Cyrano. Rostand developes Cyrano as an unpragmatic, neo-romantic hero using intertextuality, hyperbolized behavior, and a focus …show more content…
on Cyrano’s state of mind. Rostand frequently references Shakespeare’s romantic poetry with the addition of a creative twist to develop Cyrano’s neo-romantic archetype. Shakespeare’s writing involves a myriad of romantic elements that portray the irrationalism of humans and take place in remote settings, which implies original elements of Romanticism. Rostand attempts to mirror this technique with a more satirical rendition that many considered a fault for “ … lofty, romantic verses to tell such a solemn story” (Ledford 20). In Shakespeare’s most famous balcony scene, Romeo yells his love for Juliet from under her balcony, in which Romeo ran the risk of being caught and killed for being a Montague. These actions illuminate his human irrationalism by explicating his heroic element of imperiling death for the sake of love, a definite indication of extreme romanticism. Nevertheless, Shakespeare sets the scene in an isolated area, where Romeo confesses his love without interruption. Inspired by Shakespeare, Rostand parodies the original scene into his own balcony scene, in which Christian is too vacuous to serenade Roxane — Rostand’s rendition of Juliet— leading to Cyrano shadowing him in order to feed him lines of poetry that sweep Roxane off of her feet, although it was unbeknownst to her that it was in fact Cyrano bearing his soul. His satirical touch included Christian messing up lines, adding a dramatic irony of the obviousness of the scheme to the audience, but leaving Roxane clueless, even as Cyrano switched placed with Christian: “CHRISTIAN: The... serpents twain, of... Pride... and Doubt! ROXANE: -But why so faltering?
You Stumble.
Has your active mind gone lame?
CYRANO (drawing CHRISTIAN under the balcony, and slipping into his
place): Give place! This waxes critical! … ” (Rostand 67).
Furthermore, the trio is interrupted by a monk who bares bad news of this romantic-hero’s demise, a starkly different end than the end of young love in Romeo and Juliet.
Through the character of De Guiche, Rostand references Don Quixote as a stab towards Cyrano; however, Cyrano retorts by accepting the comparison with pride, stating that although Don Quixote’s insanity flung him to the ground, it just as easily could have elevated him into the sky:
“DE GUICHE: ...That windmill sails may sweep you with their arm Down- in the
mire!...
CYRANO: Or upward- to the stars!” (Rostand 55).
Cyrano’s romantic characteristics are exemplified in his far fetched dreams in literally dreaming of the
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stars. Moreover, Cyrano’s hyperbolized behavior makes for his extreme non-pragmatism in that none of his problem solving methods are sensible or realistic.
When recieving word that a friend, Ligniere, would be attacked by one-hundred men, Cyrano jumps to the rescue to defeat them all rather than sensibly allow his friend to seek refuge in his household, swearing to Ligniere that he “ … shall tuck [him] into … bed [him]self” (Rostand 28). Furthermore, the exaggeration in skill Cyrano possesses further contributes to his hyperbolized behavior. The fact of his defeat of the one hundred men proves his unrealistic skill set on the battlefield in addition to with a pen. Nevertheless, such sporadic behavior contributes to his ultimate demise in that his “ … sacrifices for his friends … underscores another theme: the importance of honest and clear communication” (Ledford 101). Cyrano’s neo-romantic elements revive the impracticality of his heroic archetype, in this case acting as his hamartia, from a realist’s perspective. Another aspect of his hyperbolized behavior is his extreme poetic skill. In Act I, Scene IV, Cyrano devices a ballade off the top of his head while dueling the Viscount and wins. This scene exemplifies Cyrano’s hyperbolized romantic qualities, taken to the extreme as he declares that “While swords are clashing, I shall fence in rhyme, And improvise a poem, a ballade” (Rostand 20). The satirical quality Rostand awards the grim outcome of a duel adds a revitalizing
quality to the Romantic-Hero archetype. Later on in the play, Rostand continues to exaggerate Cyrano’s romantic qualities in the face of death. During the Siege of Arras, each day Cyrano writes multiple love letters to Roxane and delivers them across a raging battlefield only to fulfill “a promise he would write … often” (Rostand 83). During this point, Cyrano’s passionate emotions overtake any remaining reason to the point where his single teardrop for Roxane is noticed by Christian. The affective sensation of his overpowering emotions can be, in part, credited for Christian and Cyrano’s peripeteia, where their plan falls apart, as does Cyrano’s happiness. Additionally, Rostand devolves Cyrano’s dynamic state of mind from the sharp-witted features of a traditional romantic hero into a realistic man with flaws, who learns a valuable lesson on his deathbed.: “Cyrano has a reversal of his mental faculties … from quick witted and sharp in his observations … to the same insecurities, fears, and lapses in judgment that trouble all mankind. In his final moments, he hallucinates one last duel between himself and Death. His physical and mental limitations have finally caught up with his indomitable spirit” (Ledford 92). In the beginning, his swift thinking helped many people and ameliorated the story; for example, Cyrano invents a moon descent story under the wire to distract De Guiche while Roxane and Christian get married and when he devises an on the spot ballade, performed during a duel. Slowly, these characteristics degenerate due to his internal conflict and emotional irrationalism. Withal, at the conclusion where Roxane resigns to a nunnery to grieve Christian everyday for 15 years, Cyrano walks there everyday to converse with her, despite his destitution and disability. He continues to deteriorate his own mental health out of loyalty to his friends as well as for love until his demise on his way to see Roxane. His internal strife is only resolved during his duel with death, when he finally reveals to Roxane that it was he who wrote her love letters and he who she fell in love with, allowing him to die knowing the truth about her nature as a “ … truly ideal woman: one who recognizes, appreciates, and reciprocates a love like Cyrano’s” (Ledford 96). This appreciation concludes the overarching themes of values and virtues, that non-virtuous action will lead to a less virtuous result. Edmond Rostand promotes a revival of neo-romanticism “as a reaction against the new theatrical movement as well as a celebration of France’s history” (Ledford 1) using intertextuality, hyperbolized behavior, and a focus on Cyrano’s state of mind. He rejects realism in pursuance of a more novelty form of romanticism. He uses satirical references to significantly romantic works, such as “Romeo and Juliet” and Don Quixote. Rostand also exaggerates all of Cyrano’s features to hyperbolize his romantic features. Furthermore, he elucidates the problems with typical romanticism by showing Cyrano’s mental deterioration as a result of his radical behavior.
Superficial passion revolves around outward beauty, but true love is always found in the heart. In Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand conveys this truth beautifully. This play follows Cyrano in his quest for love from Roxanne, believing she could not love him due to his oversized nose. Little do they know that she does not truly love the handsome Christian, but rather Cyrano, the master of words.
“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” (Confucius) Cyrano’s insecurity of his nose effects his relationship with Roxane. In Edmond Rostand’s play Cyrano De Bergerac, Cyrano’s insecure and eloquent self-perception results in Cyrano’s companionship & loving in his relationship with both Christian & Roxane. Cyrano’s level of eloquence helps him combat the insults of his nose. Cyrano is a poetic, witty, & eloquent man who is insecure & has trouble showing his true feelings for Roxane .Cyrano and Christian work together to win Roxane’s heart, and at the end Cyrano allows love to kill him, even after Roxane discovers & reciprocates his feelings.
Appeal to emotions, individualism, and intellectual achievement were three important elements of Romanticism. This essay will explore the degree to which Cyrano de Bergerac exemplifies these elements of Romanticism.
Few words can be more humorous, or more upsetting, than a well thought out and witty phrase. The only skill that matches Cyrano’s skill with a sword, is his skill with his tongue. With a wit unmatched by any poet, Cyrano made enemies wherever he went, simply by out-smarting all who came against him. In the first act of the play, Cyrano crashes a performance of the well-known actor Montfluery. After many insults, Cyrano heaps upon them by saying, “I would never venture out in public with a soiled conscience, a tarnished honor, or scruples grimy and dull. I do not adorn myself with gems and ribbons, like you. Instead, I decorate myself with truth, independence, and a clean soul.”
In The play Cyrano de Bergerac, the main character, Cyrano, is a noble idealist who fights against the harsh reality of ordinary life, and creates his own world. On the outside he is a strong man with a hard shell, but inside he is a melancholy poet yearning for love. He feels that the world bases love too much on appearance. He believes that no one will ever love him because of his grotesquely long nose. For this reason Cyrano cuts himself off of true reality and creates a world where love exists without appearance.
Romantic love stories are often ended with a tragedy, because of loss of passion or a loved one. These tragedies are often the result of one person’s actions that ended someone’s life or love. In the Romeo and Juliet play written by William Shakespeare, two citizens of Verona come together and fall deeply in love. Unfortunately their love comes to an end, along with their lives, because of a misunderstanding and a persistent feud between their families. Although there are many characters in this play that have contributed to Romeo and Juliet’s death, Friar Laurence is the person most to blame.
A famous man by the name of Kahlil Gibran once said, “Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” It just happens that Cyrano’s heart shined brighter than anyone I have ever known. Through insecurities and heartbreaks, Cyrano would never forget his pride or the feelings of his friends. He never lost his honor and would always bring light into any situation, even when he was near his death. Cyrano displayed many positive traits and values such as loyalty, devotion, selflessness, knowledge, and pride which all contributed to our sympathy towards him.
When we think about the force that holds the world together and what makes humans different from animals, one answer comes to our minds - that humans can love. Love is a state of mind that cannot be defined easily but can be experienced by everyone. Love is very complicated. In fact it is so complicated that a person in love may be misunderstood to be acting in an extremely foolish manner by other people. The complexity of love is displayed in Rostand’s masterpiece drama Cyrano de Bergerac. This is accomplished by two characters that love the same woman and in the course neither one achieves love in utter perfection.
The theme of this play is inner beauty and outer beauty. In the beginning of Cyrano de Bergerac, it seems like the theme focuses heavily on outer beauty. As you continue to read on, the play actually puts more emphasis in inner beauty. Symbolism is very important in this play. The letters written by Cyrano symbolizes Cyrano’s inner beauty because what you write comes from your soul which is shaped by your personality. Cyrano’s nose symbolizes his ugliness and his insecurity. Because Cyrano knows Roxane would never consider him because of his nose, he decides to help Christian since Cyrano believes he can help Christian win Roxane’s heart. “
Love is something that is so beautiful it brings people together, but at the same time it can be the most destructive thing and it can tear people apart. Edmond Rostand's play, Cyrano de Bergerac, is a tale of a love triangle between Cyrano, Christian, and Roxane. In the play, Cyrano helps Christian make a false identity about himself for Roxane to fall in love for. Christian had the looks while Cyrano had the personality, together they could make the perfect man. Throughout the play, you see similarities and differences between Christian and Cyrano’s personality, looks, and who they love.
Continuing on from Cyrano’s carelessness for his happiness, we may easily make a jump to his sense of self-worth. Any man who would sacrifice his own love, thus, his entire world, for the sake of his rival cannot have a concern for himself.
Cyrano has unknowingly created a sort of psychological trap in which women are kept on the outside and men are free to roam within. Lacking confidence around women, he is forced to pour his heart out on to letters and is deprived of any kind of physical contact with the opposite gender. Without confidence, a man's attempts at any kind of a relationship with a woman are almost always thwarted because in order for a woman to be attracted to a man, she must first see confidence in him. Since Cyrano has no confidence in his ability with women, he is stuck in a never-ending cycle of rejection and loneliness.
This is not fate nor coincidence. In complete control of his life, Cyrano is arrogant, deceptive, and hesitant in his actions; this ultimately leads to the great tragedy. As a result, we conclude that Cyrano has technically jeopardized himself. If Cyrano had not been so stubborn when he refused to be under De Guiche’s patronage, had not been so generous to feign the love letters for Christian, and had he not been so hesitatant when he deciding to confess his love to Roxane, the tragedy could become a romantic love story with a sweet ending. Again, Cyrano must hold all the responsibility for his actions and he must recognize that only he is to blame for this tragedy.
Here Othello uses irony to subtly demonstrate his grasp of the English language. His claim that he is “rude” in speech is particularly revealing because he knows all too well that no one in that room would believe that he has rudimentary abilities. Similarly, the remaining line of this example shows us his poise with regard to physical strength and the leading of armies. Ultimately, use of this kind of language reflects Othello’s lofty ideals. From the onset, we are given words that mirror powerful, dramatic images that know no bounds – and with that, we see his strength and passion for being both an idealized military general and a devoted, loving husband.
In none other of his plays, not even in The Alchemist, in Bartholomew Fair, or in The Silent Woman, is Ben Jonson’s prodigious intellect and ardent satirical genius so perfectly revealed as in Volpone. The whole of Juvenal’s satires are not more full of scorn and indignation than this one play, and the portraits which the Latin poet has given us of the letchers, dotards, pimps and parasites of Rome, are not drawn with a more passionate virulence than the English dramatist has displayed in the portrayal of the Venetian magnifico, his creatures and his gulls. Like Le Misanthrope, Le Festin de Pierre, like L’Avare, Volpone might more fitly be styled a tragedy, for the pitiless unmasking of the fox at the conclusion of the play is terrible rather than sufficient. Volpone is a splendid sinner and compels our admiration by the fineness and very excess of his wickedness. We are scarcely shocked by his lust, so magnificent is the vehemence of his passion, and we marvel and are aghast rather than disgusted at his cunning and audacity. As Mr. Swinburne observes, “there is something throughout of the lion as well as the fox in this original and incomparable figure.”