On April 1, 1869, Edmond Rostand, a famous French poet and playwright, was born in Marseille. Creator of successful plays such as “La samaritaine” and “L’aiglon”, Rostand is above all known for the “Cyrano de Bergerac”, an absolute masterpiece of French and, more generally, European theater. We can only remember Rostand through one of the most loved pieces of the “Cyrano”, the monologue of the nose. The monologue of the nose
Act I, sc IV
DE GUICHE Now it has bothered us!
THE VISCONTE DI VALVERT What a braggart!
DE GUICHE And some
are not good at answering him for rhymes
…
THE VISCONTE None
I’m going to throw him myself, you will see, one of those traits!
You… you… have a nose… eh… very big!…
CYRANO (gravely) Indeed!
THE VISCONTE (laughing) Ah!
CYRANO (imperturbable) This and all
…
THE VISCONTE But …
CYRANO And very little!
They could say … but there were josa,
varying in tone. – You could, maybe,
say to me, in an aggressive tone: “If I had such a nose,
I would immediately have it cut!”
Friendly: “When you drink, you must fish
in the glass: provide yourself with some suitable vase!”
Description: «And a fortress! … And a peak! … A boss at all …
But what! and a peninsula, in my word of honor! ”
Curious: “What is this business for, sir,
perhaps as a desk, or as a jewelry box
”
Vezzoso: “So you love birds so much
that you are concerned with paternal love
to offer their little legs a worthy pivot
”
Truculent:” Hey, sir, when in the sneeze
the vapor of the tobacco comes out of such a funnel,
the neighbors do not cry out to the fire in the hood
”
Cortese: “Be careful, that
the weight of this butt does not send you to the ground, with your head bowed!”
Tender: “Provide him with a small umbrella,
so that his beautiful color does not go out in the sun!”
Pedant: “The animal that Aristophanes wants to
be called hippocampelophant chameleon
had so many bones and so much flesh under his forehead!”
Arrogant: “Oh, my friend, and that prop is in fashion
. You can in fact very well suspend your hat!”
Emphatic: “No wind, oh master nose,
can’t make everything cold, except the Mistral!”
Dramatic: “And the Red Sea, when it bleeds!”
Admirative: “Oh, great perfumery sign!”
Lyric: «And a basin
You are a genius of the sea
»
Simple: «The monument can be visited
»
Respectful: «Suffer you respect yourselves, sir:
this is what it means to have something in the sun!»
Rustic: “Ohe, strawberry trees! Give it, give it to the nose!
And a giant cabbage or a little popon
”
Military: -” Aim at cavalry! ”
Practical: “You would like to put it
in the lottery
.”
if you had some wit and letters.
But of spirit, you wretched scoundrel,
you never had an ounce, and of letters as many
as it takes to say the word: idiot!
If, on the other hand, had you had the ingenuity to the point of being able to
use all the points of this cicada
in the presence of the elite brigade ,
you would not even have the uttered half
of the quarter of a syllable, which, as you have heard,
I have the inclination to serve them. without any reservations,
but I do not allow another to serve me at all. Cyrano de Bergerac and the weapon of the word
Reading this famous excerpt from Act I of “Cyrano”, one cannot help but think of the representation that Gigi Proietti made of it.
If this very dated piece has crossed the ages and is still successfully represented, there is only one reason: the irony that Rostand was able to store in this monologue is universally valid.
Cyrano, a whimsical writer living in seventeenth-century France, and also a skilled swordsman. He loves to rival and ridicule his opponents, who become more and more numerous due to the character of the character, always at odds with the powerful and the bullies.
Cyrano, deeply in love with his cousin Rossana, and ready to do anything to win her over. One night he receives an invitation from her beauty, and rushes to her. Unfortunately this is a trap, concocted by one of the writer’s powerful enemies. Between adventurous ups and downs and rash decisions, the “Cyrano de Bergerac” shows the strength of friendship, represented by the bond between Cyrano and Cristiano, which even surpasses that of love.
If friend Cristiano is a good-looking young man that any woman on earth would love, Cyrano is instead characterized by a detail that everyone notices: his nose stands out enormously on his face. And reason for mockery, for high-sounding descriptions, for naive and less naive smiles. The monologue of the nose plays entirely on this small physical trait, which becomes the starting point to beat with the weapon of the word, before doing it with the sword, the rival faced by the whimsical Cyrano, Count Valvert. An example of mastery that goes beyond time and space. Edmond Rostand
Edmond Eugene Alexis Rostand was born on April 1, 1869 in Marseille, into a very wealthy family. His father, Eugene Rostand, is a famous intellectual, journalist and translator. Edmond’s childhood is peaceful. He begins his studies in his hometown and then moves to the French capital to attend the faculty of law.
After completing his studies, Rostand enrolled in the bar but never practiced the profession. His interests are others, and he realizes it by writing his first play, in 1888, called “Le gant rouge”. This experiment was followed by others, and in the meantime the intellectual also devoted himself to the composition of poems and essays: the most famous, published in 1890 with the title of “Essai sur le Roman sentimental et le Roman naturaliste”, marks the entry of Rostand in the world of culture.
His plays are acclaimed: with the “Cyrano de Bergerac” (1897), Rostand openly demonstrates the exaltation of romantic values, staged against a historical background that is nothing short of picturesque. “L’aiglon” definitively consecrates Edmond Rostand, opening the doors of the Academie Francaise to him. Edmond Rostand died in Paris in 1918, victim of the Spanish flu.
