Cyrano de Bergerac
Edmond Rostand
Summer Reading Bonus - 2014
Cyrano de Bergerac is a touching story of love,
faithfulness, honor, and loss. Cyrano is based
on a real person although Rostand -- like many
talented authors -- has altered the facts of the
story to emphasize his thematic message.
The play was actually written in the late 1800's,
but seems as though it should be much older
since it is set in the 1600's when the real Cyrano
actually lived. Rostand came from a well-to-do
family and was encouraged to write from an
early age. He began writing plays for
marionette (puppet) theater! He studied
literature, philosophy, and history before
pursuing a law degree in Paris. He never
practiced law because writing was his first love.
About the Play
Cyrano is written in French; you will be reading
one of many translations. The time setting may
be foreign to you. If you have watched movies
featuring French musketeers, you may
understand the period better.
It was the time of "Courtly Love." I strongly
suggest you visit the site: "The Art of Courtly
Love" at Fordham University to better
understand the rules of love and courtship in
those days. Also a visit to Webmuseum, Paris:
Baroque might help you understand the
historical setting in greater depth. As you read
the play, key themes to watch for include the
meaning of love and sacrifice, what constitutes
true beauty, friendship and egotism, and the
dangers of deception.
BASIC READING
EXPECTATIONS
1. Know the main characters by
name.
2. Be able to summarize the play's
settings, plot, & key events.
3. Be able to comment intelligently
on the themes of the work.
4. Christian analysis: what Biblical
truths or values did you find
expressed in this piece?.
READING
ASSIGNMENT
1. Use a pink highlighter to mark the name of
every key character. Copy the name of every
major character into the front cover of your
book for easy reference.
2. For the characters Cyrano, Christian, and
Roxane, highlight in yellow two quotes for
each character that illustrate their struggle to
understand the meaning of beauty and love.
3. On a separate sheet of paper, hand write at
least a paragraph of commentary in your
words for each quote of why you chose these
quotes and what these quotes show about
the characters. (You would have SIX
paragraphs altogether when you complete
this assignment.)
CYRANO
ASSIGNMENT
DUE DATE
This assignment is worth
100 points. It is due on the
first Friday of the school
year--AUGUST 22--at the
beginning of class.