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** Etherpad Chat Summary ** "any work or philosophy in which the exotic or dreamlike figure is devoted to individualistic expression, self-analysis, or a pursuit of a higher realm of knowledge than can be discovered by human reason."Rostand's "absolute originality" Cyrano = exotic character, individual logic/belief system one who's larger-than-life personality is mirrored by his large nose,"more than a mere man" Eloquence vs. Beauty, panache, "heroic comedy"
 * ROMANTICISM**

Based on the real Cyrano de Bergerac, although changed to be supremely heroic, poetic and romantic, with a large nose.
 * CHARACTER**

While the late 1890s was a period of great industrial and technological advancement, the mid-1600s (the beginning of the reign of Louis XIV) was a time of political intrigue and artistic intellectualism. France in the 1640s was still feeling the effects of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), fought mainly in Germany.
 * Seventeenth Century: Thirty Years War**

In 1648 French nobles got upset, because the thought the taxes, road tolls and tarriffs were unreasonable. They got the Spanish troops support and staged a rebellion against Cardinal Mazarin, who was running for government. The rebellion was put down by the aristocrasy allied together with the rising middle class. They were outraged that the nobles were allied with SPANISH army, france's enemy!! All this gave Louis XIV to opportunity to consolidate his power over France, and became absolute ruler...
 * Seventeenth Century: Civil Unrest**

1) A new paradigm in Drama: "Cyrano will be regarded as one of the most noted romantic heroes of all time, asserting that "Cyrano will survive because he is practically a new type in drama."
 * Critical Essay 3**

2) Like the Beatles, Cyrano will overcome the test of time: "Realistic figures perish necessarily with the generation in which they were created, and their place is taken by figures typical of the generation which supervenes. But romantic figures belong to no period, and time does not dissolve them....

3) Cyrano is a HERO: The important and obvious point is that Cyrano, as created by M. Rostand, is a splendid hero of romance. If you have any sensibility to romance, you admire him so immensely as to be sure that whatever he may have done was for the best.

4) Cyrano is GLORIFIED: All the characters and all the incidents in the play have been devised for the glorification of Cyrano, and are but, as who should say, so many rays of limelight converging upon him alone.

Here are the only mildly interesting parts of this essay: 1. "Cyrano's entrance, however, is when the play really begins, and it is in his entrance that Rostand reveals his hero's character and concerns. After chasing Montfleury off of the stage, Cyrano assumes the spotlight, managing to turn his worst defect into a "theatrical" asset. To put Cyrano "in his place," Valvert attempts to insult him, saying, "Your nose is... rather large!" This lame jibe only proves to be a springboard for Cyrano's wit- he responds with a list of twenty things that Valvert could have said in twenty different styles, such as, "DESCRIPTIVE: 'Tis a rocka craga cape/ A cape? Say rather, a peninsula!" 2. "Cyrano's catalogue of insults shows his own obsession with his "peninsula," his love of language, and his contempt for the tiny minds that surround him. He is "a soul clothed in armor," and his wit is the "armor" that defends his often-battered pride. When asked by Valvert to duel, Cyrano again "performs," composing (and reciting) a four-stanza ballad the entire time; his mind and his sword are equally sharp, and his "thrusting" at Valvert reflects the "thrusting" of his mind in the previous speech." 3. "Despite Cyrano's bravado, he does harbor great insecurities about his desire for Roxane. Before he faces (and defeats) his hundred opponents, he tells LeBret that he is afraid to speak to her because "she might laugh," and this "is the one thing in the world" that he fears. Act Two serves as a way for Rostand to accentuate this fear and intensify the portrait of Cyrano's pride created in Act One. " Act 4 is "haunted by death" e.g. autumn, sunset, Cyrano Important themes of the play extracted from this ridiculous essay: Sacrifice Nobility Facade Contempt
 * Critical Essay 1:**

During the reign of Louis XIV, Literature flourished in France. The aristocrats were the patrons of the arts in France, and they financed the works of the artists. Rostand was against works of literature being dedicated to these patrons, and he shows this through Cyrano going against this paradigm.[Quote: "Dedicate my works to men of wealth?/ Become a sedulous ape, a fool who waits/For some official's patronizing smile?/No, thank you, ... I prefer to sing, to dream, to play/To travel light, to be at liberty."]
 * Seventeenth Century: Literature.**

During the 17th Century, people would talk about literature in salons. Usually, these "intellectuals salons" were controlled by some French noblewoman who would entertain the guests while laying in bed. Madeleine Robeneau, whom Rostand used as a model for Roxane, was a hostess of these literary salons.
 * Seventeenth Century: Salons.**

What is it about? - Saying that Cyrano de Bergerac is a satirical play, not (as it was hailed) a serious drama. According to the essay, the author is a pretentious twit. His sentences are ridiculously long and convoluted. What he's basically saying, is he read somewhere that someone said that Cyrano is a serious piece of drama. He does not agree and just mocks this stance. I don't think anybody really finds this play unfunny. I think he heard someone say that cyrano the bergerac was a serious peiece of drama. He's lmabasting anyone that doesnt think its funny. He's saying that the play is funny.
 * Critical essay no. 2**

- Rostand wrote Cyrano in Alexandrine verse and Burgess turned it into Heroic couplets with a rhyming couplet scheme. This poetic style of writing was used to convey the dreamlike quality of Romanticism. - Whilst the ending in Cyrano is sad and tragic, Cyrano does manage to die being loved by the woman he has always loved
 * STYLES OF WRITING**
 * Heroic Comedy**

- Repartee is a conversation featuring snappy retorts and witticisms - One of the best examples of this is Cyrano's rapid wit when talking about the size of his own nose. - This helps towards building Cyrano's heroism as he is shown to be capable of beating his opponents through both wit and sword
 * Repartee**


 * Point of View**

- Cyrano's is told with a third person point of view. - This leads to a point of view where the audience hears none of the characters' thoughts and feelings other than what the characters tell each other. - This places greater focus on the subtleties and nuances in the poetic worlds that the characters say to on other.

- Made its debut at Porte Sainte-Martin Theater in Paris in 1897. MODERN CLASSIC. - Entertaining theatricality and its heroic protagonist who remains loyal to his ideals. - Cyrano = hideous swashbuckler with the heart of gold -Dying for love is one of the most heroic acts a man can commit and Cyrano dies with knowledge that he loves Roxanne and now she loves him (despite his looks) -The character of Cyrano carries the playhis verbal virtuosity and faithful devotion to those he loved and cared for make him utterly unforgettable and absolutely timeless.
 * Critical Overview**

Roxane is beautiful, intelligent and an independent soul, one of the most desirable women in Paris. She lives wither her Duenna (chaperone) in Paris. She is the object of desire for multiple characters within the play, including Cyrano, Christian, Comte de Guiche and Vicomte de Valvert. Described by Rostand as "delicately reared and bookish", she is a lover of words.
 * Roxane**:

While she is initally attracted to Christian for his looks, she is repelled by his intial lack of literary eloquence. Only when Cyrano speaks in place of Christian, does Roxane fall further in love with the supposed genius of Christian. She devises a plan to prevent De Guiche's late-night metting so she may marry Christian by deceiving the Capuchin (priest) to marry them.

She remains a faithful and loving wife, staying in a convent and resisting the advance of De Guiche after the death of her husband, Christian. Her only link to the outside world, her weekly gazette, is Cyrano. When she finally realizes that the letters were Cyrano's words, not Christian's, she declares love to what she had fallen in love with, the eloquence of words that Cyrano had.

Excels in both poetry and swordsmanship.
 * Cyrano de Bergerac**

Evident from his confrontations to Montfleury and Valvert, his wit is a weapon as sharp as his sword. From Cyrano's "when the poem ends, I hit.", it is clear that he is in complete control in the swordfight and verbal bantering, dispatching his opponent as he ends his ballade. His devotion to art is evident in the line "I might, (take a patron)/if the thought of anyone's changing a single comma/didn't make my blood curdle." - His revulsion of the thought of anyone meddling in his affairs.

He uses his words in fighting just as he uses his words to pursue love. Cyrano is convinced that Roxanne is not able to love him because of his looks, yet Roxanne falls in love with Cyrano's words, not Christian's looks.

Cyrano is a passionate man, but his independence leads to his downfall, as he keeps his love for Roxanne secret for fifteen years, but does achieve some triumph as he finds that Roxanne does love him. "Cyrano's tale illustrates the concept of true beauty coming from within."

He has made it his raison d'etre to live life as stylishly as possible. With as much panache as possible. Side effects of this lifestyle include unmatchable skill with the sword, and literary genius, spanning speech, wit and poetry. He pretends to be proud of his nose, as would be the panacheful way, but is secretely embarrased by it. He feels it is the one thing that prevents Roxane from loving him. His ire does get raised whenever someone makes fun of his nose, as was demonstrated when the fat actor seals his fate with the pitiful insult about Cyrano's large facial ornament that juts from this features.

Cyrano has a strong knowledge of science and talent for ad lib.

Politics: The United States annexed the Hawaiian Islands. Queen Victoria celebrated her 75th year of rule. Despite the threat of various conflicts, the world was at a time of relative peace. Science: Joseph John Thomson proved that an atom was made up of electrons orbiting a nucleus. The cathode ray tube was invented; which would eventually lead to the development of television and wireless communication. Literature: Edmond Rostand wrote Cyrano de Bergerac at a time when Naturalism was a major force in the literary world.
 * Politics, Science and Literature**