Reflective Statement Cyrano

Through the two interactive orals, I learned a great deal of the style of the author Edmund Rostand and a clearer understanding of the message he was trying to convey. Specifically, I greatly increased my knowledge of the time and place in which this play was set which adequately allowed me to understand the play while reading it. Eric Richard mentioned in the pre-IO about the era of Romanticism in that time period and how it was a literary genre which became popular in the late 1700s to mid 1800s following the Enlightenment. It stemmed from new wealth, progress, and the formation of modern social systems and it allowed individualism and imagination.

        Through the post-IO, I learned a great deal of the social expectations in the society and the way people were perceived by the way they dress which gave me a much clearer understanding of the specific instances in the play and the context of the message. Matthew Moody, in the post IO, talked about how the clothing people wore in the 1600’s France was essentially a reflection of their social and financial status. That information, hence, allowed me to understand the intentions and reasoning of the conversations between main characters in the play. Mohammad, in the post IO, also mentioned the society of France and Paris under the reign of Louis XIII. I learned about how that time period consisted of political intrigue and artistic intellectualism and a lot of war and civil unrest was present. This made me keep in mind that Cyrano took place at a time when France was building its identity as a modern-nation state. France was always loosely connected until the 1600s when it started to group into a strong, stable state.

        Viren, in the post IO, talked about Melodrama and how it focuses on romantic and sensational topics that appeal to and manipulate the emotions of the audience. This information made me understand the romantic relationships and the love triangle that existed in the play. Matthew Moody also talked about the concept of tragic flaw which immensely cleared my understanding of many underlying themes in the play. He talked about how the term tragic flaw refers to a personality trait of a main character leading to his or her downfall. This made me understand more about the main character and the fear of rejection and general insecurity that was heavily prevalent.