To portray preciosity in Cyrano, Rostand turned to the aesthetic category of preciosity provided by the nascent discipline of literary history: it is both a moment in mores and literature and an eternal tendency of the national spirit. However, the proximity between Roxane and other Rostand heroines suggests a very “fin de siècle” treatment of this preciosity, which Rostand uses as a bulwark against the brutality, decadence, and cynicism of his time. Deliberately anachronistic, his “precious” poetry oscillates between the hope for revitalization and the perils of parody.
CLIL theme: 4027 -- SCIENCES HUMAINES ET SOCIALES, LETTRES -- Lettres et Sciences du langage -- Lettres -- Etudes littéraires générales et thématiques
ISBN:978-2-406-08582-9
EAN:9782406085829
ISSN: 2105-2689
DOI: 10.15122/isbn.978-2-406-08582-9.p.0091
Publisher: Classiques Garnier
Online publication: 10-23-2018
Periodicity: Quarterly
Language: French
Keyword: Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac, preciosity, précieuses, literary history