Background
Cyrano Bergerac was born on March 6, 1619, in Paris, to Espérance Bellanger and Abel de Cyrano. Cyrano’s father was a lawyer and was the lord of Mauvières and Bergerac.
Cyrano Bergerac was born on March 6, 1619, in Paris, to Espérance Bellanger and Abel de Cyrano. Cyrano’s father was a lawyer and was the lord of Mauvières and Bergerac.
At the tender age of seven, Cyrano was sent to a country priest for his primary education. Later, Cyrano moved to Paris, and pursued his further education from an institute called ‘College De Dormans-Beauvais’. However, Cyrano didn’t complete his degree.
Post his education, Cyrano joined the infantry, also known as the corps of the guards, and served for the forces during the year 1639-40. Cyrano was just nineteen years old at the time he joined the army.
During the ‘Siege of Arras’ in 1640, Cyrano was terribly wounded, after which he hung his boots from military services. He then spent quite some time working with noted mathematician, scientist, and philosopher Pierre Gassandi. During the days he spent with Gassandi, Cyrano also met other intellectuals such as Molière' and Chapelle. He also came in contact with David Dupron from whom Cyrano learnt his lessons in dancing.
Cyrano then ventured into writing. His first work is said to be 'Le Pédant Joué’, a play which belonged to the genre of comedy. Though this play was written in the year 1645, it is unclear about when the act was first performed. This piece of work was published nine years after it was written by Cyrano.
The very next year, Cyrano penned the introduction for ‘The Judgement of Paris’, a poetic work composed by one of his closest friends Charles'Coypeau' d'Assoucy.
One of the most prominent works of Cyrano’s career was 'La Mort d’Aggrippine’, which was written in 1646. This tragic play, which was divided into five acts dealt with the exploitation of power and growth of corruption. The play went on to become so popular that it was published in 1653, and was performed on stage twice, the following year. Even after two centuries, the play was brought back to the public in 1872.
During the last few years of his life Cyrano started writing two of his very influential works titled ‘Voyage To The Moon’ and 'The States and Empires Of The Sun’. Though the latter was incomplete, both these works were published during the years 1657 and 1662, respectively.
A compilation of Cyrano’s works, titled ‘Oeuvres Diverses' which translated to ‘Diverse Works’, was published by his friend Charles Coypeau in 1653. The book consisted of works such as ’The Death of Agrippina’, 'The Pedant Outwitted' and 'The Letters’. The book was also known for a famous portrait of Cyrano which was done by one of Cyrano’s friends named Zachary Heince.
Cyrano died on 28 July 1655, at the age of 36. The reason behind Cyrano’s death continues to be a mystery. It’s claimed by many that Cyrano had ended up in an asylum during his last days since the ‘artist in him had turned mad with numerous ideas’. Cyrano’s brother Abel was accused of forcing the playwright into such a place.
Quotations:
"I think the Moon is a world like this one, and the Earth is its moon. "
My friends greeted this with a burst of laughter. "And maybe, " I told them, "someone on the Moon is even now making fun of someone else who says that our globe is a world. "
"I had scarcely entered the room when I saw on my table an open book I had not put there. It was the works of Cardano. I did not intend to read it, but my gaze fell as though compelled on a story told by that philosopher. He writes that he was studying one night by candlelight when he saw two tall old men come in through the closed doors of his room. He asked them many questions, and they finally told him they were from the Moon; whereupon they disappeared. I was so surprised, both by the book that had put itself on my table and by the page it was open to, that I took this chain of events for an inspiration from God, who was urging me to tell people that the Moon is a world. "
Many sources claim that Cyrano was a homosexual, and was involved in a relationship with his friend Charles Coypeau.
He was never married.