Cyrano de Bergerac: The main character of the play. He is a soldier, poet, philosopher, and scientist --- a man of immense courage, versatility, and talent. He has an enormous nose and is very sensitive about it. He is an expert swordsman and challenges anyone who mentions his nose. He jealously guards his intellectual freedom, even though he suffers poverty. His integrity and innate nobility of spirit are the theme of the play.
Christian:
Roxane:
Comte de Guiche:
Le Bret:
Ragueneau:
Lignière:
Valvert:
Montfleury:
Cyrano’s comrade-in-arms. a handsome man of noble spirit and generosity. He is in love with Roxane, but unable to express his love in such a way as to be acceptable to her. He is not stupid, but is actually inarticulate.
The beautiful girl with whom both Cyrano and Christian are in love.
She falls in love with Christian’s beauty and (though she is unaware of it) Cyrano’s mind. She is described as a “précieuse”, which, in 17 th century France, meant a person highly affected in language, manners and dress. To a “précieuse”, what a person was was not as important as what he appeared to be. Christian is afraid that Roxane, being a
“précieuse”, would not love a plain-spoken man.
The villain of the play, Richelieu’s nephew, who wants Roxane as his mistress, and wishes to marry her to Valvert. Solely for revenge against Christian and Cyrano, he sends the Gascony Guards to almost certain death.
Cyrano’s friend and confidant.
A poet who runs a bakery shop where other poets congregate.
A poet, Cyrano’s friend. Cyrano single-handedly routs the one hundred men sent to kill Lignière.
A “précieuse” who insults Cyrano by referring to his nose. He is the man De Guiche wants Roxane to marry. It is to him that the famous speech of insults is addressed, and it is he with whom Cyrano duels while composing a poem.
An actor, one of Roxane’s suitors. He has incurred Cyrano’s displeasure and has been forbidden by Cyrano to act on the stage for three weeks.

Fact Sheet
The historic person of Cyrano de Bergerac
 A true, historical person
 A Renaissance man: philosopher, poet, scientist, swordsman, writer, soldier, man of honor
 Friends with great French comedy writer, Molière, who plagiarized
Cyrano’s work
 First known science-fiction writer
 Not truly a French noble, nor a native of the region of Gascogne
 Reputed to have had a very large nose, not as exaggerated as in the play
 Died after a freak accident when a plank fell on his head
 Never fell in love with a cousin named Roxane
 Subject of a play written by Edmond de Rostand
The fictional person of Cyrano de Bergerac
 In love with his cousin, Roxane
 Ridiculously long nose
The play “Cyrano de Bergerac”
 Play first performed in 1898
 The play’s themes are classically inspired by Greek philosophy of love
 The play’s premise is founded on the medieval concept of unrequited love
 Play has elements of both tragedy and comedy
 Play is written for a virtuoso actor
The author of the play, Edmond de Rostand
 A playwright of the neo-classical movement
 “Cyrano de Bergerac” was his masterpiece
 An “Immortel”, youngest author ever elected to l’Académie Française
Died of influenza in the Great Flu Epidemic during WWI (1918)

Essay Rubric ♦ To be written in English
Due on Monday, November 18th ♦ No late work will be accepted
Minimum 500-word essay
Typed on a computer
10 points _______
10 points _______
Used Spell-Check 5 points _______
Proofread by an adult 5 points
Adult’s signature _____________________
_______
Has a clear introduction, body and conclusion 10 points _______
Answers at least three questions
From Madame’s list of questions 30 points _______
Expresses personal opinion supported by examples from the film 10 points _______
Cover Art: Self-portrait by Cyrano 10 points _______
Completed by due date
Rubric attached to essay
5 points _______
5 points _______
TOTAL POINTS _______

All answers need to be fully developed, with justifying examples.
1.
How does Cyrano’s life support the idea that the spiritual is more important than the physical in life?
2.
Does Cyrano’s personality change or evolve throughout the development of this film? If so, how?
3.
Is Cyrano a tragic, pathetic or comic character? Support your answer with specific examples from the play.
4.
Do you think Cyrano’s conduct toward Roxane was admirable or foolish? Why?
5.
What is the author, Edmond de Rostand, trying to tell us about the importance of our appearance and our bad qualities?
6.
Can you relate to Cyrano’s feelings of inadequacy? Have you ever been embarrassed by a physical trait that you thought would prevent others from liking you? Is this a rational fear?
Do you judge others based on their looks or based on their personality? What lessons can you learn from Cyrano?
7.
What are examples of pathos, ethos, eros, and agape in the story of Cyrano?
8.
Was Roxane worthy of Cyrano’s admiration? What do you think really kept them apart? Would this have happened in real life?

For the classical Greeks, there was not just one word for love. They made a distinction between the various forms that love can take, so much so, that they had different terms for each of the different types of love:
 Eros – physical love o The kind of love that makes a heart flutter o Origin of the word “erotic” in English
 Philia – brotherly love o The kind of love one feels for a family member or friend o Origin of “Philadelphia”, the city of brotherly love
 Logos – love of reasoning o The kind of love one feels for a great idea or principle o Origin of the word “logic” in English
 Ethos – love of principles o The kind of love one feels for a great leader or movement o Origin of the word “ethics” in English
 Pathos – emotional love o The kind of love that you feel for babies, puppies, or anyone who is suffering; close to compassion o Origin of the words “empathy” & “pathetic” in English
 Agape – godly love o Unconditional love, the kind of love God feels for us; also, motherly love o Of all the Greek forms of love, this one is unique and stands alone in that this kind of love is based on the nature of the one who loves, not on the nature of the one who is loved. For example, God loves us because it is his nature to love, not because we are cute, good, or smart. o This form of love is often associated with the sun.

Courtly love was a medieval European notion of ennobling love came from the ethics of the princely courts in regions of present-day southern France at the end of the 11th century. In essence, courtly love was a contradictory experience between erotic desire and spiritual attainment, "a love at once illicit and morally elevating, passionate and self-disciplined, humiliating and exalting, human and transcendent.
Courtly love found its expression in the lyric poems written by troubadours, who were traveling composers and performers of songs at royal and noble courts during the Middle Ages in Europe. The style flourished in the 11th century and was often imitated in the 13th. Many troubadours traveled for great distances, aiding in the transmission of trade and news.
In the typical scenario of a tale of courtly love, a noble knight falls in love wit a woman he cannot have, either because she is married, or she is the daughter of an enemy, or she has been sworn to the church. Yet, the knight loves the woman, so he is required to deny his sexual feelings for her and to honor his love for her in honorable ways: jousting, poetry, song, small gifts, and various forms of self-sacrifice.
This medieval obsession with unrequited love, or love that cannot be reciprocated, even though the other person may want to, probably stems from the high frequency of arranged marriages in medieval times and the church’s negative view of sexuality at that time. People often found themselves forced to marry someone they didn’t love. As a result, they had to love their true love from a distance and deny that love. There are many commonly known examples of unrequited love: Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, The Phantom of the Opera, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, to name a few.