Cyrano de Bergerac is the title character of Edmond Rostand's 1897 verse play Cyrano de Bergerac, a brilliant swordsman, poet and wit in seventeenth-century France who is cursed, in his own mind, by an unusually large nose that convinces him he can never be loved. Secretly in love with his beautiful cousin Roxane, Cyrano instead helps the handsome but inarticulate cadet Christian de Neuvillette win her affection, ghostwriting Christian's love letters and even feeding him romantic lines from beneath her balcony, so that Roxane falls in love with what she believes is Christian's combined charm and eloquence. Cyrano conceals his own authorship and feelings for decades, even after Christian's death in battle, and it is only as Cyrano himself lies dying, many years later, that Roxane finally realizes it was Cyrano's words, and Cyrano she truly loved all along. The character is loosely based on the real seventeenth-century French writer and duelist Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac, and Rostand's fictional version became a defining figure in French drama for eloquence, self-sacrifice and unspoken love.
Facts
Narrative RoleSourced to the subject's own accountTitle character of Edmond Rostand's 1897 verse play Cyrano de Bergerac, loosely built on the real 17th-century novelist and playwright of the same name. 1 Defining TraitSourced to the subject's own accountDefined by his oversized nose and by the panache he claims for himself in the play's own dialogue, a word the play is credited with introducing into English. 1 Narrative role (class)Sourced to the subject's own account FAQs
Was Cyrano de Bergerac a real person?
Yes. Edmond Rostand's play is loosely based on the real 17th-century French novelist, playwright and duelist Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac, though the story mixes invention and myth with fact.
Edmond Rostand's 1897 play draws on the life of the real Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac, a 17th-century French novelist, playwright and soldier, though it mixes elements of invention and myth with the historical record. The real Cyrano did have a large nose, which surviving portraits confirm, but the play exaggerates it well beyond life for dramatic and comic effect.
Sources
1. Cyrano de Bergerac (play, Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section, paragraph 2
The play includes elements of the life of the 17th-century novelist and playwright Cyrano de Bergerac, along with elements of invention and myth.
Lead section, paragraph 4
The character of Cyrano himself makes reference to "my panache" in the play.
Background section, historical basis
The play includes elements of the life of the 17th-century novelist and playwright Cyrano de Bergerac, along with elements of invention and myth. Cyrano's large nose is based on reality (see the accompanying portrait) but in performance of the play is usually exaggerated.
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