Genre
Drama
Language
French
Setting and Context
1640, France, Thirty Years' War
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person limited. Multiple narrators.
Tone and Mood
Rostand's tone is slightly parodic and melodramatic as he mocks the conventions of Romantic drama.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Cyrano de Bergerac; Montfleury, De Guiche (each for only part of the play)
Major Conflict
The main conflict is whether Cyrano will ever win Roxane's love for himself, especially as he helps Christian try to win her for himself.
Climax
The climax occurs at the siege of Arras when Christian is killed, Roxane is prostrate with grief, and Cyrano boldly leads the charge and is wounded.
Foreshadowing
De Guiche mentions that he heard Cyrano might have an accident (171).
Understatement
-"Your nose, sir, is...er, well, it's...very big" (32).
Allusions
-Cyrano and Montfleury mention the Muses, the goddesses of inspiration for music, the arts, and science (23).
-Cyrano speaks of great lovers such as Cleopatra and Caesar, Berenice and Titus (lovers from the Herodian Dynasty of the Roman Empire) (42-43).
-Roxane compares herself to Penelope and Helen from the Greek myths (153) as a way to proclaim her own love stronger.
Imagery
*see other entry
Paradox
n/a
Parallelism
n/a
Personification
-Cyrano talking about his nose: "Is it limp? Does it dangle like an elephant's trunk? Is it hooked like the beak of an owl?" (30)
-Cyrano says, "Let's see what happens if we let our souls drink deeply of the river as it rolls" (107).
Use of Dramatic Devices
-Cyrano often speaks in asides as a way to clue the audience in to his real thoughts on Roxane and his love for her.
-Ragueneau provides comic relief.
-Cyrano provides a few soliloquies, such as when he in Act II speaks of his independence.
