Edmond Rostand

Regarded as one of the greatest dramas ever written, Cyrano de Bergerac is the story of the silver-tongued soldier whose unfortunate looks drive him to woo his love by speaking for his handsome but dull-witted rival. Cyrano de Bergerac occupies a unique place in the modern theater. Deliberately disavowing realism and contemporary relevance, Edmond Rostand's masterpiece represents a turning back in both time and spirit to an earlier age of high adventure and soaring idealism. Its magnificent hero, Cyrano--noble of soul and grotesque in appearance, gallant Gascon soldier, brilliant wit, and timid lover, alternately comic, heroic, tragic--represents one of the most challenging of all acting roles in its complexity and mercurial changes of mood. From its original production to the present day, Cyrano de Bergerac has enjoyed a charmed existence on the stage, its unflagging pace of action and eloquence of language enchanting critics and public alike. Here, in a superlative translation, is the ultimate triumph of the great French romantic tradition--a work which, in the words of the French critic Lema tre, "prolongs, unites and blends...three centuries of comic fantasy and moral grace." Translated by Lowell BairWith an Introduction by Eteel Lawson and an Afterword by Cynthia B. Kerr

Regarded as one of the greatest dramas ever written, this story of the silver-tongued soldier whose unfortunate looks drive him to woo his love by speaking for his handsome but dull-witted rival is beloved around the world.

Une seule collection de lecture pour tous niveaux Structure du livre: Une collection de lecture en francais pour se divertir, s'enrichir, perfectionner ses connaissances des grands classiques de la litterature francaise. Cette collection est accessible des le niveau debutant, elle est organisee en quatre niveaux: A1, A2, B1, B2. Un dossier pedagogique a la fin de l uvre est renforce par des activites de comprehension, des fiches thematiques et des corriges integres. La definition des mots et des expressions difficiles figure en bas de page. Descriptif: "Il est gascon, gentilhomme, amoureux et poete. Il ecrit comme il se bat, le coeur a la pointe de l'epee. Pour Roxane, la femme qu'il aime sans espoir, il prendra tous les risques..." Composants: Le CD audio contient la totalite du texte enregistre. Un dossier pedagogique propose des activites pour controler la lecture et l'ecoute du texte, reemployer le vocabulaire ainsi que des fiches pour aller plus loin."

Characters: 5 male, 1 female Exterior Set The story of two youngsters whose parents wish them to marry. The young people are determined to take matters in their own hands and refuse to fall in with their parents' plans. The fathers then pretend to a mortal enmity, which brings the young people together, but only after the boy and girl have run away from home and returned disillusioned.

`Tonight When I make my sweeping bow at heaven's gate, One thing I shall still possess, at any rate, Unscathed, something outlasting mortal flesh, And that is ... My panache.' The first English translation of Cyrano de Bergerac, in 1898, introduced the word panache into the English language. This single word summed up Rostand's rejection of the social realism which dominated late nineteenth-century theatre. He wrote his `heroic comedy', unfashionably, in verse, and set it in the reign of Louis XIII and the Three Musketeers. Based on the life of a little known writer, Rostand's hero has become a figure of theatrical legend: Cyrano, with the nose of a clown and the soul of a poet, is by turns comic and sad, as reckless in love as in war, and never at a loss for words. Audiences immediately took him to their hearts, and since the triumphant opening night in December 1897 - at the height of the Dreyfus Affair - the play has never lost its appeal. The text is accompanied by notes and a full introduction which sets the play in its literary and historical context. Christopher Fry's acclaimed translation into `chiming couplets' represents the homage of one verse dramatist to another. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.