Cyrano, poet and swordsman, is a distinguished character famous for his panache but at odds with life because of his ludicrous nose. Reluctant, through fear of ridicule, to declare his love for Roxanne, he does so indirectly, precipitating a lyrical adventure. Romantic and magical, Cyrano is Rostand's 'Beauty and the Beast', its protagonist a creature of fairy tale, through his alienation is not without contemporary relevance.