Product Description

`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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #730060 in Books
• Published on: 1998-09-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

About the Author
Nicholas Cronk is a Fellow and Tutor in French at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. Christopher Fry is a verse playwright. He is the author of many well-known plays including The Lady's not for Burning.

Customer Reviews

Translation
I am currently using this book for reference whilst I study Cyrano de Bergerac for my French literature module of my French A-Level. For this purpose, it is most useful if you want a basic idea of what is being said during a scene. However, obviously when you are doing French literature commenting on the imagery used etc. is especially important and obviously the translation is not always that direct therefore, it would be necessary to translate the french text exactly in order to comment on imagery used. Another problem with this translation is that although it tells you when the Act changes, it does not have which Act you are reading on the top of each page nor does it tell you when the scene changes. Therefore, once again for specific comments you would need to refer back to the French text and if you are looking up a particular scene this book makes it almost impossible to find! However, it is very useful to have at your fingertips if you don't quite understand something or if you are studying French literature and have missed a lesson etc. Worth buying unless a better translation with Act and Scene on the top of pages etc can be found!