Cyrano de Bergerac: Act two

1. Cyrano de Bergerac:Act two By: Gretchen, Katie, Hannah, and Hayley

2. Reading Assessment • Why did Cyrano choose to help Christian?

3. Act Two Summary • The characters collect in the shop of Ragueneau, the baker and pastrycook. • Cyrano has defeated Valvert in a duel and the whole city is ecstatic. • Carbon, the captain of the guards, tries to lead him outside to meet adoring fans, but Cyrano refuses to follow. • People attempt to get close to Cyrano to talk to him and important men ask him for details about the duel. • Roxane, having previously asked to speak with Cyrano, arrives to the shop. • She and Cyrano talk about how their relationship used to be when they were children, and then Roxane tells Cyrano that she is in love with another man: Baron Christian de Neuvillette. • Cyrano offers to become his friend and never let him fight a duel to please Roxane.

4. Act Two Summary cont. • Roxane calls Cyrano a great friend and promises to keep in contact. • De Guiche enters, praising Cyrano for his chivalry, and Cyrano presents him with the song of the Cadets of Gascoyne. De Guiche offers to take Cyrano to his uncle, the Cardinal, for help, but Cyrano refuses. • Hats of the men that Cyrano had defeated the night before arrive at the shop and De Guiche reveals that he is the one that hired the men. He storms out. • Le Bret and Cyrano have a disagreement on how Cyrano is ruining his chances of becoming anything more than he is now. Cyrano wants to live by his own ideals and has no interest in relationships with insincere people. • Christian enters and the other guards tease him and warn him not to comment on Cyrano’s nose. The guards then ask Cyrano to tell his story of the duel.

5. Act Two Summary cont. • As Cyrano is telling his story, Christian continuously interjects with rude comments about Cyrano’s nose. Cyrano’s temper flares, but composes himself when he remembers his promise to Roxane. Finally, Cyrano sends the cadets away. They expect Cyrano to kill Christian. • After they exit, Cyrano hugs Christian and reveals that he is Roxane’s cousin. Christian is ashamed because he is to stupid and has no way with words and cannot write to Roxane. He believes that she won’t love him after she reads his letters. • Cyrano proposes an idea; he will write Christian’s letters for him. He tells Christian that he wants to practice his comic poetry, but in reality, he is jumping at the opportunity to express his feelings to his true love. Christian agrees to this plan, and the men embrace once more.

6. Themes, Motifs, and Symbols • Language – • Roxane wants Christian to write her a letter. • Christian asked Cyrano to help him write the letter because he is not good at speaking. • Dueling – • Cyrano fights off 100 men. • The angry civilians from the show the night before now respect him.

7. Themes, Motifs, and Symbols cont. • Letters – • Roxane would like Christian to write her letters. • She feels like if he wrote her a letter, that will show that he reciprocates her feelings. • Appearances – • Roxane thinks that she loves Christian because she thinks he’s beautiful. • Christian also loves Roxane because she is beautiful.

8. Character Development • Cyrano – • He has become modest about his talents. Cyrano decides to help Christian even though he is in love with Roxane. This creates tension between the two of them. • Christian – • He gets rude with Cyrano with his nose. He later asked him for help with his letter for Roxane. Once he finds out that Cyrano is Roxane’s cousin, he feels sorry about his actions. • Roxane – • She is in love with Christian and blind to the fact that her cousin is in love with her. She asks Cyrano to watch over Christian and protect him.

9. Passage Analysis “Cyrano: Watching you other people making friends Everywhere – as a dog makes friends! I mark The manner of these canine courtesies And think: My friends are of a cleaner breed; Here comes – thank God! – another enemy!” (90) Situation: Cyrano has just finished his argument with de Guiche and is talking with Le Bret about relationships. Le Bret proposes that he should start forming alliances with other higher-ranked people so he can make something of himself. This passage shows how Cyrano feels about using people to his advantage and in return, gaining a false friend. Significance: This shows the maturity and modesty of Cyrano. He reveals how he feels about friendship and how he wants real friends that care about the real Cyrano, not something that he has to offer them. He again uses his talent for speaking and language; his use of words and their meanings provides insight on the real Cyrano. Questions: Will Cyrano always keep this modest attitude towards friendships?

10. Connections between Act Two and “The History of the Real Cyrano de Bergerac” • Characteristics of the real Cyrano de Bergerac: • Was a skilled swordsman • Had a very large nose • Retired to make a living in writing • Helped his friend Lingiere fight 100 men • Despised the actor Mondory (or Montfleury) • Forbade him to perform on stage • Scared him offstage when he did

11. Romanticism in Act two • Appeal to Emotion – Many of Cyrano’s and Christian’s actions are based off of their feelings for Roxane. • Symbolism – The letter that Cyrano gives to Christian to give to Roxane is supposed to be a symbol of his love for her. • Lyric Poetry – The letter from Cyrano is supposedly written in such an eloquent way that it resembles a poem. • Everyday and Exotic – The words that Cyrano puts into the letter are from deep within and display his character and love for Roxane.