1. French Literature in the late 19th and 20th century
Reporter Amy Kong

2. L'amour est la langue de l'univers.
Poetry- very very common form of literature, as presented in many French plays
Courting the lady became integrated in poetry, drama, the novel, history, and criticism.
Eventually became part of French life.

3. Literature Movements -Romanticism -Naturalism -Realism
-Parnassian Poetry
-Symbolism
-Surrealism

4. “Le vague des passions”
“Le mal du siècle"
Welcome to Romanticism
 Victor Hugo,
 Alexandre Dumas, père, 
François-René de Chateaubriand, 
Alphonse de Lamartine, 
Gérard de Nerval, 
Charles Nodier,
Alfred de Musset, 
Théophile Gautier,
 Alfred de Vigny
Theatre, poetry, prose fiction
Foreign influence overwhelmingly strong
Characteristics remained through many literature movements
Expression made all the difference
Christianity and its renewal was important to its awakening
Nationalism was a common theme
Patriotic heroes and sacrifices presnet

5. Symbolism
-against naturalism and realism
-more gothic component of art in French literature
-closely tied with Romanticism, or more accurately said, worked together to form a sentimental piece

6. Parnassian Literature
 Charles Leconte de Lisle,
 Théodore de Banville,
Sully Prudhomme, 
Stéphane Mallarmé, 
Paul Verlaine, 
François Coppée, 
José María de Heredia
Parnassian poets' journal, Le Parnasse contemporain
Théophile Gautier
“art for art’s sake.”
Contrasted Romanticism greatly because it focused more on what was directly true rather than the over emphasizing of emotions.
Not limited to only French poets.

7. Euler’s Identity: e^ipi +1=0
E^ix= cos (x) + i sin (x)
AKA =0
Realism
Was the time frame where the poets wanted to depict the contemporary life of society. Industrialization and the growing modern world was portrayed more, like street slang. Science, math, history were also included in some texts.
Jules Michelet,  George Sand

8. Naturalism Imprecise expression
Focused more with the realism theme, and many realism poets took radical viewpoints of romanticism works
Hippolyte Taine was a huge influence of that; Swedish and Russian views impacted him
He believed every individual’s personal lifestyle altered their stories

9. And surrealism is basically just a cultural movement in the 1920s
And surrealism is basically just a cultural movement in the 1920s. A lot of visuals, a lot of writing, a lot of strange shapes. The goal was basically “to let the unconscious express themselves,” meaning, the picture could signify different things to different people.

10. And FINALLY, How does Rostand fit into this context?
Rostand was a neo-romanticism author, and he definitely mixed in symbolism and a hint of realism in his plays and stories. Most of his plays fit the standard patriotic hero who made sacrifices, and had a comedic tone despite being a tragic play.
In Cyrano de Bergerac, there are many instances of this, as one may recognize.
Look at the beginning scene, where there is an overload of expression. Look at the insecurity the nose provides the great hero, Cyrano. And of course, look at the romanticism present in the play.