Panache
The French word Panache’s popularity is associated with the flamboyant and reckless courage portrayed by Cyrano De Bergerac. Written by Edmond Rostand, the play Cyrano De Bergerac portrays the character with the same name as a lovesick cadet in the French army and as a loud and often pompous man who likes to pick fights with anyone he disagrees with. Despite those qualities, Cyrano is a character readers will love due to the one characteristic he will always carry with him—his panache. This essay will show a few examples where Cyrano displays panache.
To understand better how the examples work, one should understand what panache is. The Oxford Advanced American Dictionary defines panache: “the quality of being able to do things in a confident and elegant way that other people find attractive (1061). The original use is for a plume, such as an elegant feather worn on a hat or helmet. Today, commons synonyms are flair, style, and swagger.
From his first introduction, Cyrano makes an impression. Not only does he challenge the actor, Montfleury, after banishing him from the stage for a one-month period, but also he challenges the entire audience when they boo him for his actions. Cyrano must have publicly scorned the actor, as the audience whispered conjecture of Cyrano’s arrival, so when he loudly proclaimed his attendance by …show more content…
Persons with panache must be able to back up their words and flair with the actions they assert to have, which is what Cyrano is certainly able to do. After his fiasco at the theatre, Cyrano finds himself assailed upon by 100 men who wish to kill him. After the fight is over, he comes out of the scrape with nary a scratch. However, does he boast of his bravado after the victory? No, he does not. When his cousin Roxane confront his about it, he dismisses it as nothing but a scratch instead for boasting about his deeds. That is part of his style—humble in victory, no matter how great said victory
The French word Panache’s popularity is associated with the flamboyant and reckless courage portrayed by Cyrano De Bergerac. Written by Edmond Rostand, the play Cyrano De Bergerac portrays the character with the same name as a lovesick cadet in the French army and as a loud and often pompous man who likes to pick fights with anyone he disagrees with. Despite those qualities, Cyrano is a character readers will love due to the one characteristic he will always carry with him—his panache. This essay will show a few examples where Cyrano displays panache.
To understand better how the examples work, one should understand what panache is. The Oxford Advanced American Dictionary defines panache: “the quality of being able to do things in a confident and elegant way that other people find attractive (1061). The original use is for a plume, such as an elegant feather worn on a hat or helmet. Today, commons synonyms are flair, style, and swagger.
From his first introduction, Cyrano makes an impression. Not only does he challenge the actor, Montfleury, after banishing him from the stage for a one-month period, but also he challenges the entire audience when they boo him for his actions. Cyrano must have publicly scorned the actor, as the audience whispered conjecture of Cyrano’s arrival, so when he loudly proclaimed his attendance by …show more content…
Persons with panache must be able to back up their words and flair with the actions they assert to have, which is what Cyrano is certainly able to do. After his fiasco at the theatre, Cyrano finds himself assailed upon by 100 men who wish to kill him. After the fight is over, he comes out of the scrape with nary a scratch. However, does he boast of his bravado after the victory? No, he does not. When his cousin Roxane confront his about it, he dismisses it as nothing but a scratch instead for boasting about his deeds. That is part of his style—humble in victory, no matter how great said victory