SOURCE: "The Masterpieces," in Edmond Rostand, Twayne Publishers, 1978, pp. 60-91.

Amoia regards Cyrano de Bergerac and The Eaglet as Rostand's finest works.

The two plays that may be characterized as Rostand's most developed and mature works—Cyrano of Bergerac and The Eaglet—were produced in 1897 and 1900, respectively. The former is the glorious burst of the summer of Rostand's life. The latter was written at the beginning of a painful period of illness, destined to become the author's melancholy autumn.

I Cyrano Of Bergerac: a Dream In Action

In about three and a half centuries of modern theatrical history, there have been recorded in France only two other triumphs comparable to that of Rostand's Cyrano of Bergerac: the first was Corneille's Le Cid, produced in 1637 during the time of Richelieu; the other, Le Manage de Figaro by Beaumarchais, presented in 1784 in the dawn of the French Revolution.

Cyrano of...