Cyrano de Bergerac (Style)

Style

Cyrano de Bergerac is the tale of a man with an abnormally large nose who is in love with his beautiful cousin Roxane. She is, however, in love with the handsome soldier Christian. Cyrano’s words work with Christian’s good looks to woo Roxane, and it is only upon Cyrano’s death that Roxane learns the words she loved so much were Cyrano’s. As both poet and swordsman, Cyrano lives out his days independent and free, “thumbing his nose” at the conventions of the mid-1600s. The story is a very effective dramatic work, utilizing numerous techniques to convey the emotions and events of Cyrano’s life.

Romanticism

Rostand idolized the writer Savinen de Cyrano de Bergerac (1619-1655) and, in creating a fictional account of his life, embellished on one of France’s most colorful literary figures. The real de Bergerac was indeed both a soldier and a writer, but Rostand added one distinguishing element: a very large nose. While Cyrano’s nose is first seen as a comic prop, his romantic heart and heroic stature quickly change that perception. Those familiar with the play see Cyrano’s nose as a symbol of his undying love and devotion.

Cyrano de Bergerac falls very easily into the genre of Romanticism. That term is generally defined as “any work or philosophy in which the exotic or dreamlike figure strongly, or that is devoted to individualistic expression, self-analysis, or a pursuit of a higher realm of knowledge than can be discovered by human reason.” Cyrano is, beyond anything else, an individual. From his first appearance in the theater to taunt Montfleury, Cyrano’s larger than life personality mirrors his unusually large nose. This physical challenge makes Cyrano an exotic character, one who is more than mere man.

Character

By basing the character of Cyrano on a real historical figure, Rostand was able to use the most interesting aspects of the real de Bergerac and then embellish by adding details such as the incredibly large nose. Rostand created a character that took on a life of his own. Cyrano strives for perfection, both in poetry and in love. The other characters in the play are marvelously written, but it is Cyrano who twists and turns words into tirades and roller coasters. Rostand uses the real de Bergerac’s life as a source for some of the verbal virtuosity. Cyrano’s speech delaying de Guiche in his late-night meeting with Roxane is based on the real Cyrano’s Histoire comique des etats et empires de la lune etdu soleil, a comic exploration of the “States and Empires of the Moon and the Sun”. It is however, the fictional Cyrano’s “nose tirade” in Act I that serves to set the stage for his heroic endeavors. This is a man who refuses to lose and refuses to fail. Even in the end he triumphs as he dies. He wins the love of the beautiful Roxane by remaining true to his character.

Repartee

Cyrano engages in witty repartee many times during the play. Repartee is a “conversation featuring snappy retorts and witticisms” (see DfS glossary). The repartee between Cyrano and the citizen in the theater leads to the infamous “nose tirade” in which the man is humiliated by Cyrano’s rapid fire wit. The comedy that results from this exchange and with his exchange with the Vicomte de Valvert later on in Act I is at the recipients’ expense, but it serves to focus our attention on Cyrano and to make him a hero as he defeats his foes with means other than his sword.

Point of View

As with many dramas, Cyrano de Bergerac is told with a third person point of view. This presents characters and events from outside any single character, but with no special insights into the thoughts or actions of the characters. We see events from a “spectator” point of view, but we do not hear any of the characters thoughts and feelings other than what they tell each other. Shakespeare often relayed characters’ thoughts and interior dialogues through a monologue called a soliloquy, which essentially allows a character to speak his mind out loud. Rostand eschews this technique in favor of a straight dialogue method, one that places the burden of illustrating his character’s feelings on the poetic words they speak to each other.

Heroic Comedy

G. K. Chesterton wrote in his book Varied Types that,“heroic comedy is, as it were, a paradise of lovers, in which it is not difficult to imagine that men could talk in poetry all day long.” Rostand wrote Cyrano de Bergerac in Alexandrine verse: a rhymed verse used by French dramatists and poets. Anthony Burgess, in his English translation in 1971, turned it into Heroic couplets with a rhyming couplet scheme. By writing in verse, Rostand was consciously working against the naturalism and symbolism of his contemporaries Ibsen and Maeterlinck. For Rostand’s heroic comedy, he uses poetry to convey the dreamlike, exotic quality of Romanticism. There is no equivalent to Heroic Comedy in English literature. In the English (and American) tradition, comedies should have a happy ending, yet Rostand’s ends with the death of his hero. While the ending is sad and somewhat tragic, Cyrano does, in dying, gain his greatest wish: he is loved by the woman he has always worshipped.