1. Warmup Cyrano de Bergerac anticipation guide
It is acceptable to deceive if someone else benefits from it.
Lying is never a heroic act
True devotion requires doing anything for the object of one’s devotion.
Most people are honorable.
Heroic characters are always honorable.
Explain in 1-2 sentences for each statement why you agree or disagree.

2. Cyrano de Bergerac

3. Edmond Rostand
French poet most known for this play, Cyrano de Bergerac, which he wrote when he was 29
it is a five act drama completely in verse (in the original French)
not his first play, but the first one that got him noticed
was performed for hundreds of consecutive nights
the play was written specifically for the actor Constant Coquelin, who played Cyrano
Born into a wealthy family in France on April Died December 2, 1918 from the flu
Wrote several other plays and poems, which failed to rise to the same prominence as Cyrano

4. Setting 1640 - France and Spain were in conflict
Gascons are soldiers from the province of Gascony
they are known for their courage, chivalry, and wit

5. Characters
Cyrano de Bergerac - protagonist, clever, honorable, in love with Roxane
Christian - opposite of Cyrano, lacks wit, very handsome, in love with Roxane
Count de Guiche - powerful nobleman, in love with Roxane, hates Cyrano
Roxane - beautiful and smart, desires Christian; loved by Cyrano, Christian, De Guiche
Ragueneau - pastry chef who loves poetry, Cyrano’s friend
Le Bret - Cyrano’s friend and fellow soldier
Ligniere - Christian’s friend, poet and drunk with many enemies
Viscount de Valvert - nobleman affiliated with De Guiche

6. The Real Cyrano de Bergerac
French satirist and dramatist
wrote sci-fi, including a book called “A Voyage to the Moon”
his science fiction satirized 17th century religious and science beliefs, as people believed that man and the world as the center of creation
he had an abnormally large nose
had a reputation as a great swordsman when he was in the military
had many of his plays performed on stage
his cousin did in fact marry a fellow soldier, Baron Christian de Neuvillette, but the love triangle in the play by Rostand is not based on real life

7. Chivalry and courtly love
Chivalry - the code of conduct associated with knighthood
derived from the old French word chevalerie, which means “horse soldiery”
being a noble and knight seemed to go hand-in-hand since nobles could afford the costs of being a knight (horses, armor, equipment, training)
Chief virtues
piety - being religious
honor - having integrity
valor -being brave
courtesy - being polite
loyalty
Courtly love - romantic devotion for a woman who is unavailable, usually another man’s wife; dignified adultery

8. Two genres: Romanticism and Realism
emphasis on individual freedom from social conventions or political restraints, human imagination, nature in an idealized manner
concerned with emotion rather than rationality
individual is valued over the society
static characters - no real character development

9. Two genres: Romanticism and Realism
detailed realistic and factual description
represent events and social conditions as they actually are, without idealization
truthful treatment of the common, average, everyday life
uses characters from everyday life

10. Literary devices review
Metaphor
Simile
Allusions
Symbols
Personification

11. Notes for each day of reading
2 literary devices - identify and explain how it adds meaning to the scene (2-3 sentences each; page numbers)
summary of each scene (1-3 sentences, depending on how long the scene is)
a question you have (can be a plot based question, the meaning of a specific line, etc..)
your favorite line of each day’s reading - explain why it is your favorite line (1-2 sentences; page number)
Turn in next day after the reading - this will be your study guide for the final