`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 broadest spectrum 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, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date
bibliographies for further study, and much more.
