Edmond Rostand

French poet and playwright. Born into an educated merchant family in Marseille, he studied at the University of Paris. Uninfluenced by the Symbolism that was popular at the time, he became acquainted with the highbrow poet Leconte de Lisle and others. In 1890, he self-published his collection of poems Musardises, and then had success with the Comédie-Française in 1894 with Le Romanesque, a three-act tragedy in verse about the disillusionment and rebirth of two young people who believed that love could only be achieved through obstacles. He then performed The Princess of a Distant Land (1895), a story about the tragic love of a medieval troubadour, with the help of Sarah Bernhardt. It was not well received, but with Bernard's encouragement, he presented the three-act biblical play Le Samaritan (1897) at the Théâtre de Renaissance, which was almost a success. In 1897, he established his immortal literary reputation with "Cyrano de Bergerac," which was performed at the Porte Saint-Martin, which was presided over by the famous actor Cochrane. The heroism, which skillfully combined action and lyricism, was enthusiastically received by audiences who were tired of naturalism, and it is still famous today as a world-famous masterpiece. However, the author's romanticism was outdated and did not develop further, and he later produced "L'Aiglon" (1900), which deals with Napoleon's son, and the poetic drama "L'Est le Sie le Sie" (1910), but neither came close to "Cyrano." He also produced a few other collections of poems. His son was the biologist Jean Rostand (1894-1977).

[Takashi Iwase]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの詩人、劇作家。マルセイユの教養ある商人の家に生まれ、パリ大学に学ぶ。当時流行の象徴主義の影響を受けず、高踏派の詩人ルコント・ド・リールらと交際、1890年、詩集『ミュザルディーズ』を自費出版したあと、障害がなければ恋ができないと信じていた2人の若者の恋の幻滅と再生を描く三幕韻文悲劇『ロマネスク』のコメディ・フランセーズ上演（1894）で成功。続いて、中世吟遊詩人の悲恋を描く『遠い国の姫君』をサラ・ベルナールの斡旋(あっせん)で上演（1895）、あまり受けなかったが、ベルナールの激励でルネサンス座で三幕の聖書劇『サマリヤ女』（1897）を発表してほぼ成功。1897年、名優コクランが主宰していたポルト・サン・マルタン座で上演した『シラノ・ド・ベルジュラック』で不朽の文名を確立した。アクションと叙情を巧みに配合したヒロイズムで、自然主義に飽きていた観客からは熱狂的に迎えられ、今日も世界的名作として有名。しかし、作者のロマン主義は時代遅れのうえ発展がなく、以後は、ナポレオンの子を扱った『鷲(わし)の子』L'Aiglon（1900）、詩劇『東天紅』（1910）があるが、ともに『シラノ』に遠く及ばない。ほかに詩集が二、三ある。生物学者ジャン・ロスタンJean Rostand（1894―1977）は息子。

［岩瀬　孝］

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