Cyrano at 400

The quadri-centennial of the birth of Cyrano de Bergerac was an occasion widely commemorated in France throughout 2019, yet it was largely ignored in the anglophone world. This article discusses both the seventeenth-century historical Cyrano, the author and soldier, and the eponymous nineteenth-cent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Society (New Brunswick) 2020-04, Vol.57 (2), p.206-210
Main Author: Rodden, John
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
17th century
19th century
Anglophones
Appreciation
Authors
Beliefs, opinions and attitudes
Culture and Society
Cyrano de Bergerac, Savinien de
Cyrano de Bergerac, Savinien de (1619-1655)
Drama
Ethnolinguistic groups
Fame
Family
Fatalities
French literature
Political Science
Rostand, Edmond (1868-1918)
Scandals
Social Sciences
Sociology
Theater
Works
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Summary:The quadri-centennial of the birth of Cyrano de Bergerac was an occasion widely commemorated in France throughout 2019, yet it was largely ignored in the anglophone world. This article discusses both the seventeenth-century historical Cyrano, the author and soldier, and the eponymous nineteenth-century romantic drama that established his fame as the poet-orator with “a nose like a peninsula.” Written in rhymed couplets by Edmond Rostand in 1897, the play resurrected the near-forgotten historical Cyrano and immortalized him, taking poetic liberties that transformed “Cyrano” into both a name recognized on every continent and the best-known French literary hero ever created.
ISSN:0147-2011
1936-4725
DOI:10.1007/s12115-020-00466-7