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 Lointaineand
La Samaritaine, the power of love to transform human beings. Like all Rostand’s plays,
Chantecleralso 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…
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Citation: Lloyd, Susan. "Chantecler". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 September 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35913, accessed 21 November 2024.]
