Abstract This paper discusses the French play "Cyrano de Bergerac" by Edmond
Rostand set in 1640. The paper explores the romantic adventures of the soldier Cyrano, an idealist, who causes conflict through his naive actions as he loses control with the way the world is in reality and punishes those who oppose his views.
From the Paper "Idealism is the way one wishes things could be or believes that they should be, while realism is the embracement of fact and reality with the rejection of fiction or fantasy. In the world of literature authors often use one concept or the other to provide their point. In the play Cyrano de Bergarac is filled with the concept of idealism."
Abstract This paper discusses the romantic tragedy, "Cyrano de Bergerac" written by Edmond Rostand. The paper introduces the central characters of the play, and explains the intricate relationship between Cyrano, Roxane and Christian. The paper presents the main theme of the play, the power of unrequited love.
From the Paper " "Cyrano de Bergerac", written by Edmond Rostand in 1897, is one of the great romantic tragedies of all time. Cyrano is a guardsman and poet with a tender heart and a fabulous, brilliant capacity for poetry and wit. But he is cursed with an enormous, bulbous beak of a nose. Because he believes that no woman can ever love a man with such an ugly nose, he has chosen to win renown for his bravery and the beauty of his verse."
Tags: roxane, christian, deneuvillette, guardsman, enormous, nose, poet, love
Abstract This paper asks several questions. What if there is no such thing as a real self? What if underneath the mask is just another mask? Cyrano De Bergerac is a representation of this sad possibility. The paper proves that there is no single 'real' Cyrano.
From the Paper "In As You Like It, William Shakespeare offers the famous line, "All the world's a stage," an idea that takes on both literal and figurative meaning in Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, his play featuring one of the most theatrical of characters ever created. In the foreword to his translation of the play, Anthony Burgess writes that while "Cyrano de Bergerac may not be the best play ever written," its central figure "is surely one of the great characters in all drama." What makes Cyrano such a remarkable character is not his poetic eloquence, glorious swordsmanship, nor his great devotion to his own code of honor; rather, it is the human truth Cyrano represents. In Cyrano's failed search for his self-and the conflict between who he is and who he'd like to be-he manages to bring to question whether we all are inwardly conflicted to the point of total loss of ourselves. Cyrano creates several images of himself for different relationships, even living through another being's image in one relationship. However, most notably Cyrano's private image of himself, when there are no witnesses, is still a created, plastic one. After peeling off all layers of his mask, there is nothing, no essential self within him. Through Cyrano, Rostand reveals his existential notion that the world is indeed on stage, but possibly prolonging its performance even after the curtains have come down."
Abstract Fred Schepisi has successfully turned a tragedy into a comedy with his modern retelling of the 19th century classic "Cyrano de Bergerac". His film "Roxanne" recounts the same story of an intelligent, witty, poetic soul whose ridiculously large nose makes him fearful of rejection from the woman he loves. This looks at the ways in which the film "Roxanne" has departed from P Rostand's "Cyrano de Bergerac" in order to bring this story to a contemporary audience.
From the Paper "The Roxanne of the film has been revamped for the 20th century. She is a thoroughly modern woman with modern morals. She too is beautiful and intelligent, but lacks the naivety of the Roxane in the play and is far more down to earth. The fact that she is an astronomer can be no coincidence, and the talk of celestial bodies and outer space must hark back to Cyrano's fascination with the moon. The close ups of her face, her reactions and emotions allow us to see Roxanne on a much more personal level than would be possible in a theatrical setting.
In the play Roxane is portrayed as courageous and romantic when she crosses enemy lines to see Christian, as she is so moved by his letters. A modern woman, although moved by romantic gestures could not realistically carry on a relationship through letters."
Abstract This paper explains that both the movie "Roxanne" and the play "Cyrano de Bergerac" tell the tale of a witty man with an enormous nose who loves but fears to woo a beautiful woman, Roxanne. The author points out that, while Rostand's 19th century French play is essentially tragic in its architecture albeit with many comic touches and funny lines, the 1987 America film starring Steve Martin offers a modern retelling that is much gentler and funnier in its construction largely because of the increasingly intimate connections between the sexes in modern life--an intimacy that exists on both a friendly as well as a sensual level. The paper relates that, in contrast to the play, the film "Roxanne" suggests that the most overwhelming obstacle faced by the large-nosed hero is not his face, but his own internal self-consciousness.
From the Paper "The main reason for this quicker reversal in the big-nosed fighter's romantic fortunes is undoubtedly Hollywood's love for at least comedic happy endings. However, the addition of 20th century sexuality to the modern update is another reason for this plot twist as well. After all, the characters of Rostand's play adore one another from afar. This is why letter writing is such a vibrant and integral part of "Cyrano de Bergerac." Roxane is the lone woman, idolized as a beautiful creature of a courtly love scenario, little more. Her feelings for Christian, even before she receives letters she thinks are from the handsome and empty-headed young man, are similarly idealistic. "Roxane: His face shines with wit and intelligence. He's proud, noble, young, fearless, and handsome."
Abstract This analysis of Edmond Rostand's play "Cyrano De Bergerac" focuses on the self-denigration of the protagonist who, despite his great love for Roxanne and his profound intellect and chivalry, is unable to believe he can capture the heart of the woman he loves because of his physical appearance, namely his extraordinarily large nose.
From the Paper "The five act drama Cyrano De Bergerac by Edmond Rostand is the story of the swashbuckling swordsman soldier and romantic poet Cyrano De Bergerac. Set in France, Cyrano De Bergerac is actually a romantic tale of a love ..."
Tags: France, Christian, romance, romantic, poetry, love letters, materialism, superficiality
A comparison of the plot, the ending and the performances in the films "Cyrano de Bergerac," directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau and "Roxanne," directed by Steve Martin, in order to analyze which is the more romantic film.
Abstract This paper compares and contrasts the films "Cyrano de Bergerac," directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau in 1990, and "Roxanne," directed by Steve Martin in 1987, with respect to the question of which was the more "romantic" film. The paper discusses the plots, the ending and the character performances in the films. It concludes that based on these three considerations, the French version is the more romantic.
From the Paper "Finally, one cannot compare these two films without considering the performances of their protagonists. While Steve Martin delivers a fine performance as C.D. Bales the fire fighter, Gerard Depardieu's swashbuckling Cyrano - strong, noble, and extraordinarily sensual - is brilliant. The figure of the swashbuckler has been an icon of romantic film from the time of Errol Flynn. The scene in Cyrano de Bergerac where Cyrano fends off multiple attackers reveals him as a figure appealing not only to women but to men as well: women want him, and men want to be him. In this sense, it may be argued that a great romantic hero has to appeal to both sexes; like Humphrey Bogart's Rick in Casablanca or Clark Gables' Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind."
Abstract This paper describes examples from the novel "Cyrano de Bergerac" regarding how the character of Cyrano is symbolically linked to the fall of a plume (a feather), which is flighty, peaceful and whimsical, all that can be seen in Cyrano.
From the Paper "In Edmond Rostand's literary masterpiece, Cyrano de Bergerac, a tale of Cyrano, a man who declares his love for a woman by giving another man his words to use on her himself, it is apparent that panache, described both figuratively and literally, are intertwined to symbolically describe the hero of the comedy, Cyrano."
Abstract The play "Cyrano de Bergerac", by Edmond Rostand, centers on a tragic comedy of errors, about a man who actually lived in France during the 1600s and was one of the first writers of science fiction. The paper shows that in the play, de Bergerac lives during a time where too much emphasis is put on both appearance and superficial behavior. De Bergerac has a comically ugly nose and, because of this physical flaw, cannot bring himself to tell his cousin, Roxane, that he loves her. The paper describes how, instead, he loves her by proxy, writing beautiful love letters and speeches for someone in his regiment who courts Roxane, wins her love based on de Bergerac's words and feelings, and eventually marries her. The paper discusses both the play and the movie version of the text.
From the Paper "The reader gets the feeling, however, that de Bergerac gets more than a little pleasure from being the center of attention, even if it is because of something he sees as grotesque about himself (staff writer, 1995). He repeatedly brings attention to his nose, and as he is very witty, he does it in extreme ways. One gets the feeling that he revels in his own suffering. When given the choice of sabotaging or enabling his friend's courtship of Roxane, the woman de Bergerac loves desperately, he makes it impossible for Roxane to do anything except fall in love with his rival. Perhaps de Bergerac prefers to love from afar: she cannot mock him for his nose."
Abstract This paper explains that while these two stories are both about a witty man with an enormous nose who loves but fears to woo a beautiful woman, their construction differs significantly. The paper explains why Rostand's play is essentially tragic in its architecture whereas the film "Roxanne" is much gentler and funnier.
From the Paper "In contrast to the play, the film "Roxanne" suggests that the most overwhelming obstacle that the large-nosed hero faces is not his face, but his own, internal self-consciousness. The original presents the hero's nose as a much greater obstacle (if not necessarily as great a facial protuberance) and suggests that true love in the absence of beauty can only be enjoyed upon the brink of death. Thus, the ending of the movie is the most fundamental shift in plot from the original play, and in examining this ending the difference of the tone of the movie throughout becomes clear. In the original play, Roxane's beloved Christian dies while he is fighting in a battle. The woman lives on, in a nunnery, forever mourning her idealized dead lover, almost as if it were her holy obligation to do so. She lives until Cyrano reveals to her upon his own deathbed that it was he who penned all of the letters she read over and over, for many years, thinking they were from Christian."
A look at the different ways that protagonists can develop in a story, including coming-of-age stories, romance stories and stories about death and loss.
Abstract This paper examines three classic works of literature, "Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain, "Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo and "Cyrano de Bergerac" by Edmond Rostand and discusses the development of the main characters in each of the stories. The paper uses the stories to illustrate how protagonists are developed in literature and how their development often influences the development of the story itself.
From the Paper "An excellent example of a coming-of-age story is Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, in which the protagonist, Huck, grapples with issues of slavery and personal freedom. At the beginning of the story, Huck desires one thing: to be free of his father. But his journey down the river with an escaped slave, Jim, forces Huck to consider the differences between his own reach for freedom and Jim's. It's not legal for him to help Jim run away, but is it right? Huck's journey down the river is not just a physical one, it becomes a moral one as well, and by the end of the novel, he ceases viewing Jim as Miss Watson's property and views him instead as a human being."
