Cyrano de Bergerac

About the book

Cyrano is a gifted poet and swordsman whose proud independence is matched by painful self-consciousness about his prominent nose. His love for Roxane becomes complicated when she is drawn to the handsome Christian, who lacks the eloquence he thinks she expects. Their unusual arrangement separates the visible suitor from the language that gives the courtship its emotional force. Rostand moves from theatrical bustle and verbal combat to intimacy, military danger, and the demands of keeping a secret. The play continually tests the relation between outward appearance and the qualities a person actually loves. Cyrano's wit can defend him against ridicule while also sustaining the concealment that makes his own situation difficult, giving dazzling performance and private vulnerability a common source.

• Appearance and identity
• Love and language
• Pride and vulnerability

Why read it

For a theatrical romance whose verbal brilliance is inseparable from its central character's difficulty in speaking openly for himself.

Five-act play · translated by Gladys Thomas and Mary F. Guillemard