Cyrano de Bergerac Lesson Plan

Cyrano doesn't enter until midway through the first act. How does this affect the beginning of the narrative?

The lead character of a play often enters later than other characters, so as to establish the world and heighten expectation for their arrival; this is exactly what's happening here. When he enters, Cyrano interacts with a world that's already been set up; he can then heroically react to it, displaying his panache for the audience. At the same time, the importance of the setting is heightened as well: we are primed to see Cyrano in relation to his surroundings, as opposed to a potentially more internal understanding of the character.

Roxane is the subject of...