- Born:
- March 6, 1619, Paris, France
- Died:
- July 28, 1655, Sannois (aged 36)
Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac
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Who was Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac?
Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac (1619â1655) was a French satirist and dramatist whose science-fantasy works inspired many writers. Edmond Rostand's play Cyrano de Bergerac (1897) is a romantic, unhistorical legend where Cyrano is a gallant, brilliant, shy, and ugly lover with a remarkably large nose.
As a young man, Cyrano was a guardsman who was wounded at the Siege of Arras in 1640. He gave up his military career to study under Pierre Gassendi. Under Gassendiâs influence, Cyrano wrote his best-known works, Histoire comique des Ă©tats et empires de la lune and Histoire comique des Ă©tats et empires du soleil. These stories satirize religious and astronomical beliefs, ridiculing authority and encouraging freethinking materialism.
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When and where did Cyrano de Bergerac live?
Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac was born in Paris, France, on March 6, 1619, and died in Sannois on July 28, 1655. He was a French satirist and dramatist whose works, combining political satire and science-fantasy, inspired many later writers. He is best known as the basis of Edmond Rostandâs play Cyrano de Bergerac, in which he is portrayed as a gallant and brilliant but shy and ugly lover, possessing a remarkably large nose.
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What kinds of things did Cyrano de Bergerac write about?
Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac was a French satirist and dramatist whose writings combined political satire and science fantasy. His works include imaginary journeys to the Moon and Sun that satirize religious and astronomical beliefs.
Cyrano's plays include La Mort dâAgrippine, a tragedy suspected of blasphemy, and Le PĂ©dant jouĂ©, a comedy. He is also considered the author of a pamphlet that defended Cardinal Mazarin. His Lettres demonstrate his mastery of Baroque prose.
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Why is Cyrano de Bergerac considered an important figure in French literature?
Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac was a French satirist and dramatist whose science-fantasy and political satire have served as inspiration for many writers after him.
His works, Histoire comique des états et empires de la lune and Histoire comique des états et empires du soleil, ridiculed religious and astronomical beliefs, and his use of science in these writings popularized new theories. Additionally, his comedy Le Pédant joué appealed to MoliÚre, who based two scenes of Les Fourberies de Scapin on it.
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What is unusual or imaginative about his most famous works?
Cyrano de Bergerac's most famous works, Histoire comique des Ă©tats et empires de la lune and Histoire comique des Ă©tats et empires du soleil, stand out for their imaginative blend of political satire and science-fantasy.
Published posthumously, these stories chronicle imaginary voyages to the Moon and Sun, ingeniously satirizing the religious and astronomical beliefs of his time, which held that Earth and humanity were the center of creation. Cyrano employed science to popularize emerging theories and to mock authority, especially in religion, promoting freethinking materialism. He also "predicted" inventions like the phonograph and atomic theory, showcasing his inquiring and poetic mind.
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How did Cyrano de Bergerac inspire later writers and the famous play named after him?
Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac was a French satirist and dramatist whose combination of political satire and science-fantasy inspired many later writers. His Histoire comique des Ă©tats et empires de la lune and Histoire comique des Ă©tats et empires du soleil ridiculed religious and astronomical authority to encourage freethinking materialism and helped to popularize new theories through science.
Edmond Rostand's play, Cyrano de Bergerac, was loosely based on Cyrano's life. The play portrays Cyrano as a gallant, brilliant, but shy lover with a remarkably large nose. So provocative were the ideas expressed in his works that they were not published until after his death.
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Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac (born March 6, 1619, Paris, Franceâdied July 28, 1655, Sannois) was a French satirist and dramatist whose works combining political satire and science-fantasy inspired a number of later writers. He has been the basis of many romantic but unhistorical legends, of which the best known is Edmond Rostandâs play Cyrano de Bergerac (first performed 1897), in which he is portrayed as a gallant and brilliant but shy and ugly lover, possessedâas in fact he wasâof a remarkably large nose.
As a young man, Cyrano joined the company of guards and was wounded at the Siege of Arras in 1640. But he gave up his military career in the following year to study under the philosopher and mathematician Pierre Gassendi. Under the influence of Gassendiâs scientific theories and libertine philosophy, Cyrano wrote his two best known works, Histoire comique des Ă©tats et empires de la lune and Histoire comique des Ă©tats et empires du soleil (Eng. trans. A Voyage to the moon: with some account of the Solar World, 1754). These stories of imaginary journeys to the Moon and Sun, published posthumously in 1656 and 1662, satirize contemporary religious and astronomical beliefs that considered humankind and Earth as the center of creation.
Cyranoâs use of science helped to popularize new theories, but his principal aim was to ridicule authority, particularly in religion, and to encourage freethinking materialism. He âpredictedâ a number of later inventions such as the phonograph and, perhaps, modern atomic theory, though these can be considered merely offshoots from an inquiring and poetic mind, not attempts to demonstrate theories in practical terms. (Speculation about atomic theory can also be dated to ancient times.)
Cyranoâs plays include a tragedy, La Mort dâAgrippine (published 1654, âThe Death of Agrippineâ), which was suspected of blasphemy, and a comedy, Le PĂ©dant jouĂ© (published 1654; âThe Pedant Imitatedâ). As long as classicism was the established taste, Le PĂ©dant jouĂ© was despised, but its liveliness has its appeal to modern readers, as it did to MoliĂšre, who based two scenes of Les Fourberies de Scapin on it. La Mort dâAgrippine is filled with daring ideas, and the direct and impassioned character of the tragic dialogue is suited to theatrical performance.
As a political writer, Cyrano is considered the author of a pamphlet attacking the opponents of the king and his government during the Fronde, a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653. Cyrano defended Cardinal Mazarin in the name of political realism as exemplified in the tradition of Machiavelli. (Researchers have suggested that Cyrano may have also written other pamphlets attacking Mazarin during this time.)
Cyranoâs Lettres show him as a master of Baroque prose, marked by bold and original metaphors. His contemporaries regarded them as absurdly far-fetched, but they came to be esteemed in the 20th century as examples of the Baroque style.