Cyrano de Bergerac: Act 3

1. Cyrano de Bergerac: Act3 Jonathon Pattie, Emily Miner, Brad Newby, and Kelcey Fanning

2. Reading Assessment • Describe how the primary characters in this act develop their relationships as well as advance the plot and conflict through the course of this act. Explain how this might affect future acts.

3. Summary • At the beginning of the act, we found out De Guiche has ordered the Gascon Cadets to the siege of Arras. Normally, Roxane wouldn’t have thought too much of it, but both Cyrano and Christian are a part of the cadets and Roxane doesn’t want them to go to war. In an attempt to change De Guiche’s mind about sending the cadets off to war, she talks to him, coming off as being in love with De Guiche.

4. Summary Continued • De Guiche calls off the troops in order to make Roxane happy and makes the plan to secretly marry her. Before De Guiche can take action to his plan, he recieves information that Roxane is in love with Christian. To get back at Roxane for playing him, he calls back on the cadets.

5. Emerging Themes/Motifs/Symbols • Love: Cyrano is passionate and in love with Roxanne, as is Christian. • Revenge: De Guiche gets revenge for Christian marrying Roxanne by sending the cadets off to war. • Cleverness: Cyrano cleverly distracts De Guiche with his tale of his journey to the moon. • Language: Cyrano is able to win Roxanne over for Christian with his masterful use of words.

6. Character Development In this act the love triangle between Christian and Roxanne, Cyrano and Roxanne, and the Compte De Guiche and Roxanne develops. When the act opens Cyrano is heading for Roxanne’s apartment, with his recently begotten personal orchestra, to speak to her and Christian. While Roxanne fawns about Christian, Cyrano lightly ridicules him with sarcastic remarks to Roxanne. After the discussion Compte De Guiche arrives to announce to Roxanne his departure for the front at Arras. He explains how all the guards in Paris are to go under his command. Upon realizing that both the love of her life, Christian; and her friend Cyrano would be included; Roxanne decides to pretend to make a scheme with De Guiche. So in an effort to protect Christian and Cyrano, Roxanne tell him how depressed the gascon company would be if they were to remain in Paris. After De Giuche accepts the plan he thinks that Roxanne would only do such a thing if she loved him, and now not Cyrano or Christian, so he tells her that he plans to remain in Paris to marry her. After De Guiche leaves for a local monastery Roxanne and Cyrano speak briefly on Christians skills as a poet, when Christian arrives Roxanne’s request that he do an impromptu poem about his love for, at which he fails miserably.

7. Character Development Cont. After he leaves the house Cyrano and Christian confronts him about serenading Roxanne and has him call her so that Cyrano might woo her with his capable tongue. After a while of this Christian asks if he might kiss Roxanne to which she agrees. While this happens Cyrano meets a capuchin monk who is trying to find Roxanne but calls her Madeline Robin by mistake, to deliver De Guiche’s letter to her about his remaining from war so he can marry her. In an effort to stop this Roxanne purposely misreads the letter so the monk is to believe he is to marry her and Christian immediately. She then tells Cyrano the plan and asks that he keep De Guiche busy until the monk can finish. When Cyrano eventually meets De Guiche, he pretends that he is a man who has just fallen from the moon and proceeds to list the ways he was able to do it, much to the entertainment of De Guiche and readers alike. After finishing the tale Cyrano tells De Guiche what has transpired, upon learning this De Guiche is furious and decides that instead of leaving the gascon regiment behind he would stick them in the worst part of the siege and give them the worst provisions he could find. This sets up the plot and conflicts of the fourth act.

8. Passage Analysis Cyrano: Is it not so To be myself to you, and have no fear Of moving you to laughter? Roxanne: Laughter-why? Cyrano: (struggling for an explanation) Because… What am I… What is any man, That he dare ask for you? Therefore my heart Hides behind phrases. There’s a modesty In these things too- I come here to pluck down Out of the sky the evening star- then smile, And stoop the gather little flowers.

9. Passage Analysis Cont. • Motifs/Symbols: There is masks used in this passage because not only is Cyrano hiding his identity but he is also hiding his true feelings. • Introduce the Situation: Cyrano is trying to explain how Roxanne would react if she knew that it was her cousin saying these romantic words to her, in a discreet way. • Fully analyze the passages meaning: Cyrano is full of fear that if Roxanne were to know it was him saying these words to her truthfully then she would laugh in his face. So because of his fear he hides his true feelings behind the phrases he says and writes. • Elaborate on historical or current events: Now-a-days it’s not as bad when a guy tries to tell a girl how he feels, but there are time when guys get choked up and choose to hide their feelings deep down and when actually confronting that girl with his feelings he does it as discreet as possible.

10. Connections • Cyrano is very graceful with language, just as Cavalier Poets were. • Cyrano has once again promised to protect Christian as he did in act two. • De Guiche and Cyrano were rivals and this is brought up again with Cyrano getting in De Guiche’s way. • Cyrano’s love for Roxanne was earlier touched upon and is brought back up again when he is speaking in the place of Christian.

11. Romanticism • The act reflects the characteristics of romanticism through Cyrano’s love for Roxanne and Roxanne’s love for Christian. Because of his love for Roxanne, Cyrano protects Christian. Because of her love for Cyrano as a cousin, Roxanne tries to protect him and Christian by making De Guiche think she’s in love with him. Because of his love for Roxanne, De Guiche is easily tricked and persuaded to protect Cyrano and Christian.

12. THE END