Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
How does Shakespeare explore the theme of love
Role of language in communication.
Shakespeare's views on love
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: How does Shakespeare explore the theme of love
"Love is an inborn suffering proceeding from the sight and immoderate thought upon the beauty of the other sex, for which cause above all other things one wishes to embrace the other and, by common assent, in this embrace to fulfill the commandments of love. . . ." once said Andreas Capellanus, the twelfth century French author of a well-known but skeptical book, The Art of Courtly Love. Despite Capellanus’s attempt to provide others with an accurate definition of love, he fails in doing so; trying to achieve the impossible; Capellanus is unaware in composing a meaning of love that with its great ambiguity, love cannot ever be defined as a single phrase; its true meaning, which lies in the eyes of each different individual, includes a vast array of definitions, all of which differ from each other, either slightly or majorly. The presence of many distinctive interpretations of love helps illustrate this point. Even the greatest philosophical, powerful, and influential individuals of history possess diverse opinions regarding the extensive, far-reaching concept of love. William Shakespeare, a renowned author, and creator of immortal words and poetry which have endured though the modern times once said,” Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs, Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes, Being vexed, a sea nourished with lovers' tears. What is it else? A madness most discreet, A choking gall and a preserving sweet.”” Love comforteth like sunshine after rain.” Shakespeare’s compelling use of language to convey his opinions is remarkable, yet very much differs from that of Andreas Capellanus. While Shakespeare depicts love as a seemingly wonderful and comforting part of life, including that love, at times, can be unpleasant,...
... middle of paper ...
...your words are so halting. Why?
Cyrano: In this dim light they have to grope through shadows to your ear.”
In this excerpt, Cyrano utilizes his witty, intelligent, yet cunning personality to appease Roxanne, and to fulfill her wishes of Christian to speak amorously of her.
These same excerpts of Rostand’s “Cyrano de Bergerac” illustrate the direct participation of Roxanne, Cyrano, and Christian in the tradition of courtly love. During the balcony scene, Roxanne believes she is speaking with her “knight”, both literally and figuratively. The practice of courtly love includes a woman loving a knight, and because Christian is a cadet in the war, he fits into this description. Christian also loves Roxanne, and protects her during the war he is fighting in.
In conclusion, there are many interpretations of love, which lie in the eyes of each distinct individual.
Cyrano de Bergerac is a classy, intelligent man who writes for a living and his role is that he serves as the gateway for Christian to be with Roxane.
Superficial passion revolves around outward beauty, but true love is always found in the heart. In Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand conveys this truth beautifully. This play follows Cyrano in his quest for love from Roxanne, believing she could not love him due to his oversized nose. Little do they know that she does not truly love the handsome Christian, but rather Cyrano, the master of words.
“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” (Confucius) Cyrano’s insecurity of his nose effects his relationship with Roxane. In Edmond Rostand’s play Cyrano De Bergerac, Cyrano’s insecure and eloquent self-perception results in Cyrano’s companionship & loving in his relationship with both Christian & Roxane. Cyrano’s level of eloquence helps him combat the insults of his nose. Cyrano is a poetic, witty, & eloquent man who is insecure & has trouble showing his true feelings for Roxane .Cyrano and Christian work together to win Roxane’s heart, and at the end Cyrano allows love to kill him, even after Roxane discovers & reciprocates his feelings.
Appeal to emotions, individualism, and intellectual achievement were three important elements of Romanticism. This essay will explore the degree to which Cyrano de Bergerac exemplifies these elements of Romanticism.
One of Cyrano’s most significant traits as a friend was his loyalty. He would always look out for friends in their time of need, which makes the audience feel sympathetic towards him. Because Cyrano is such a loyal friend, the audience feels angry with Roxane for manipulating him, and taking advantage of his loyalty. An example of Cyrano’s loyalty was when Ragueneau’s wife was having an affair with a musketeer, Cyrano confronted her, “Make sure you do./I like your husband, and I don’t intend/To see him made a fool of./Is that clear?”(II.iv.115-118). He stood up for his dear friend, and did not want him be made a joke of. I believe this is important because it shows that he is not only loyal to his friend, but also caring and has strong moral principles. What Lise was doing was wrong, and the author put this part in to emphasize the reader’s sympathy for Cyrano. Later when Ragueneau’s wife left him, Cyrano did not hesitate to support Ragueneau by talking him out of killing himself and providing him with a proper job. Furthermore, as everyone must be aware of, Cyrano was in love with Roxane. But because he was such a trustworthy friend, he agreed to protect Christian...
Cyrano De Bergerac has had an enormous, revolting nose ever since birth. Cyrano is an idealist who fights against the harsh reality of ordinary life. He feels that love is based too much by looks and appearance and thinks that no one will ever love him because of his appearance. Because of this, Cyrano alienates himself from society and lives in a world where love exists without appearance. Throughout the book, Rostand uses the motifs platonic love and beauty to highlight the idea that idealism requires nobility, integrity, courage, and self-sacrifice.
In the beginning these two worlds are kept apart until Cyrano devises a way to bridge the two together. He discovers that the woman he loves, Roxanne is in love with a man named Christian. When he tells Christian that Roxanne has feelings for him, he reveals to Cyrano that he may have good looks, but a terrible way with words. Cyrano replies with "strange.... Now it seems I, if I gave my mind to it, I might perhaps make love well."..... "Borrow it then! - Your young manhood - lend me that, and we two make one hero of romance." (p. 84-85)
In the beginning of the play all aspects of society come together to the theater which involves the poor and the richest people. There’s were Roxane first saw Christian and she was immediately attracted to his looks, she’s just like society is quick to judge looks over personality, completely under minding Cyrano. Roxane tells Cyrano about Christian beauty in Act two Scene five Roxane said “His face shines with wit n intelligence, He’s proud, noble, young, fearless, and handsome.” This shows that she’s completely blinded by his looks! Society will describe Christian just like Roxane but will have different aspects of him. She’s saying that Christian is a bright person judging him by the way he looks. Roxane starts to look for Christian by letting Cyrano know that he is part of his regiment. In Act two Scene five Roxane said “ And it s happens, cousin, that he’s a member of your regiment.” Roxane had just seen Christian once and she already knew who he was and what he did....
Control of ones tongue, or wit, and the ability to use it well is an incredibly necessary trait of an honorable individual. The cowardice of Count de Guiche demonstrates that the lack of bravery, on or off the battlefield, leaves a man without honor or respect. And finally, unconditional and extravagant love must be practiced by those men of honor, as shown by Cyrano’s love of Roxane. True honor cannot be won, nor can be bought, honor is something that can only be given by those who see these traits within a
This is one aspect of romanticism which Cyrano most definitely embodies with his characteristics of a tragic hero. He is a man controlled by fate, which is a favorite theme of Rostand. With this theme, Smith emphasizes that Cyrano is a pawn of his fate. Smith then proves this notion by explaining how romantic heros are pawns of “fate and events” (374). This shows how Cyrano, despite his positive qualities, is bound for failure due to the nature of the play. It could be argued that Cyrano is not a failure in the fact that his love for Roxanne does not go unanswered. It is devastating that Cyrano spent so much time trying to obtain this happiness and realises all along that “he could have won Roxanne’s love for himself” (“Debating Deception,” n.p.).
The theme of this play is inner beauty and outer beauty. In the beginning of Cyrano de Bergerac, it seems like the theme focuses heavily on outer beauty. As you continue to read on, the play actually puts more emphasis in inner beauty. Symbolism is very important in this play. The letters written by Cyrano symbolizes Cyrano’s inner beauty because what you write comes from your soul which is shaped by your personality. Cyrano’s nose symbolizes his ugliness and his insecurity. Because Cyrano knows Roxane would never consider him because of his nose, he decides to help Christian since Cyrano believes he can help Christian win Roxane’s heart. “
Cyrano has unknowingly created a sort of psychological trap in which women are kept on the outside and men are free to roam within. Lacking confidence around women, he is forced to pour his heart out on to letters and is deprived of any kind of physical contact with the opposite gender. Without confidence, a man's attempts at any kind of a relationship with a woman are almost always thwarted because in order for a woman to be attracted to a man, she must first see confidence in him. Since Cyrano has no confidence in his ability with women, he is stuck in a never-ending cycle of rejection and loneliness.
This is not fate nor coincidence. In complete control of his life, Cyrano is arrogant, deceptive, and hesitant in his actions; this ultimately leads to the great tragedy. As a result, we conclude that Cyrano has technically jeopardized himself. If Cyrano had not been so stubborn when he refused to be under De Guiche’s patronage, had not been so generous to feign the love letters for Christian, and had he not been so hesitatant when he deciding to confess his love to Roxane, the tragedy could become a romantic love story with a sweet ending. Again, Cyrano must hold all the responsibility for his actions and he must recognize that only he is to blame for this tragedy.
Love by definition is an emotion explored in philosophy, religion, and literature, often as either romantic love, the fraternal love of others, or the love of God based on the definition found in The Encarta Encyclopedia. As I explored the definition by means of the Internet, books, and articles I noticed the definitions changed quite a bit, but yet had the same basic understanding. The definition I found in The Encarta Encyclopedia was probably the most simple and most basic. It refers to love in the whole aspect, which is Godly, fraternal, and romantic. All in which can only be defined by one word and that it love.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was a Renaissance poet and playwright who wrote and published the original versions of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, and often called England’s national poet. Several of his works became extremely well known, thoroughly studied, and enjoyed all over the world. One of Shakespeare’s most prominent plays is titled The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. In this tragedy, the concept that is discussed and portrayed through the characters is love, as they are recognized as being “in love”. The general umbrella of love encompasses various kinds of love such as romantic love, the love of a parent for a child, love of one’s country, and several others. What is common to all love is this: Your own well-being is tied up with that of someone (or something) you love… When love is not present, changes in other people’s well being do not, in general, change your own… Being ‘in love’ infatuation is an intense state that displays similar features: … and finding everyone charming and nice, and thinking they all must sense one’s happiness. At first glance it seems as though Shakespeare advocates the hasty, hormone-driven passion portrayed by the protagonists, Romeo and Juliet; however, when viewed from a more modern, North-American perspective, it seems as though Shakespeare was not in fact endorsing it, but mocking the public’s superficial perception of love. Shakespeare’s criticism of the teens’ young and hasty love is portrayed in various instances of the play, including Romeo’s shallow, flip-flop love for Rosaline then Juliet, and his fights with Juliet’s family. Also, the conseque...