The five act drama Cyrano De Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand, is the story of the swashbuckling swordsman soldier and romantic poet Cyrano De Bergerac. Set in 17th century France, Cyrano De Bergerac is actually a romantic tale of a love triangle of the oddest sort. Cyrano has many characteristics that are admirable, from being a brave and effective soldier to crafting some of the finest love poems of his time. However, he is brought down by his insecurities over his appearance, as he has an extraordinarily large nose. Because of this, he believes no woman will ever view him with love in her eyes.
CyranoÆs great love is Roxanne, but Roxanne is in love with one of his good-looking soldiers, Christian. Christian is dull and witless compared to Cyrano but Cyrano convinces him to woo Roxanne through the use of his love letters and poems. Roxanne falls for Christian but Christian realizes Roxanne has actually fallen in love with CyranoÆs sentiments and qualities. After Christian dies in battle, Cyrano eventually confesses his true identity to Roxanne. Once Roxanne realizes it has been Cyrano she loves, the poet-lover dies a contented man which is his triumph as well as his tragedy.
Cyrano De Bergerac might be considered a Renaissance man. He is a brave and courageous swordsman and soldier, able to take on 100 foes single-handedly and emerge victorious. He is charming, witty, chivalrous and creative. He judges performances of actors as poor and boots them from the stage. He risks his life crossing into enemy territory to mail love letters to Roxanne. Despite all of these achievements and characteristics, CyranoÆs biggest desire in life is winning the love of Roxanne. However, his enormous nose makes him feel like this is a goal he will never achieve. When Le Bret asks Cyrano who it is he loves, we see CyranoÆs self-denigration and lament over his physical appearance:
Whom I love? Think a moment. Think of meù
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