Edmond Rostand, Chantecler [Chanticleer]

Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Edmond Rostand’s

Chantecler

, a four-act play in verse with prologue, was first performed on 7 February 1910 at the Porte-Saint-Martin Theatre, Paris. In Rostand’s œuvre, it is second in significance only to

Cyrano de Bergerac

. It also contains some of Rostand’s best lyrical writing, including the famous “Hymn to the Sun”, and embodies his main themes: the loss of illusions, the role of the poet, the need to act so that good will prevail and, as in

La Princesse Lointaine

and

La Samaritaine

, the power of love to transform human beings. Like all Rostand’s plays,

Chantecler

also conceals a “

leçon d’âme

”, a lesson for the soul – here, the importance of fulfilling one’s vocation. The whole play is a hymn to nature and the honest, simple rural life lived in the French…

2407 words

Citation: Lloyd, Susan. "Chantecler". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 September 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35913, accessed 29 March 2024.]

35913 Chantecler 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.