Interpreting Chekhov

Author : Geoffrey Borny
Publisher : ANU E Press
Page : 324 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2006-08-01
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9781920942687

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Interpreting Chekhov by Geoffrey Borny Pdf

The author's contention is that Chekhov's plays have often been misinterpreted by scholars and directors, particularly through their failure to adequately balance the comic and tragic elements inherent in these works. Through a close examination of the form and content of Chekhov's dramas, the author shows how deeply pessimistic or overly optimistic interpretations fail to sufficiently account for the rich complexity and ambiguity of these plays. The author suggests that, by accepting that Chekhov's plays are synthetic tragi-comedies which juxtapose potentially tragic sub-texts with essentially comic texts, critics and directors are more likely to produce richer and more deeply satisfying interpretations of these works. Besides being of general interest to any reader interested in understanding Chekhov's work, the book is intended to be of particular interest to students of Drama and Theatre Studies and to potential directors of these subtle plays.

Author : Donald Rayfield
Publisher : Univ of Wisconsin Press
Page : 324 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 1999
Category : Drama
ISBN : 0299163148

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Understanding Chekhov by Donald Rayfield Pdf

Of all Russian writers, Chekhov is one of the best liked and most easily appreciated. Yet because his work is subtle and understated, we need help to understand him. Chekhov can be (as his friends complained) the most elusive of writers, and one who appears capable of having two opposite views and opposite intentions simultaneously. Donald Rayfield, one of the world's foremost Chekhov scholars, reveals the layers of meaning on which the stories and plays are built. All Chekhov's important works are studied: we see how closely the two genres are connected and gain insight into Chekhov's rapid development over his brief twenty years of creative life, from medical student supplementing his income by writing comic stories, to father of twentieth-century drama and narrative prose.

Author : Harvey Pitcher
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 236 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2023-04-28
Category : Poetry
ISBN : 9780520339507

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The Chekhov Play by Harvey Pitcher Pdf

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1985.

Author : Janet Malcolm
Publisher : Random House
Page : 226 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2007-12-18
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780307431660

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Reading Chekhov by Janet Malcolm Pdf

To illuminate the mysterious greatness of Anton Chekhov’s writings, Janet Malcolm takes on three roles: literary critic, biographer, and journalist. Her close readings of the stories and plays are interwoven with episodes from Chekhov’s life and framed by an account of Malcolm’s journey to St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Yalta. She writes of Chekhov’s childhood, his relationships, his travels, his early success, and his self-imposed “exile”—always with an eye to connecting them to themes and characters in his work. Lovers of Chekhov as well as those new to his work will be transfixed by Reading Chekhov.

Author : Nadya L. Peterson
Publisher : McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
Page : 317 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2021-08-15
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9780228007661

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Chekhov's Children by Nadya L. Peterson Pdf

Anton Chekhov's representations of children have generally remained on the periphery of scholarly attention. Yet his stories about children, which focus on communication and the emergence of personhood, also illuminate the process by which the author forged his own language of expression and occupy a uniquely important place within his work. Chekhov's Children explores these stories – dating from Chekhov's early writings in the 1880s – as a distinct body of work unified by the theme of maturation and by the creation of a literary model of childhood. Nadya Peterson describes the evolution of Chekhov's model and its connection with the prevalent views on children in the literature, education, medicine, and psychology of his time. As with his later writing, Chekhov's portrayals of young protagonists exhibit complexity, diversity, and a broad reach across the writer's cultural and literary landscape, dealing with such themes as the distinctiveness of a child's perspective, the relationship between the worlds of children and adults, the nature of child development, socialization, gender differences, and sexuality. While reconstructing a particular literary model of childhood, this book brings to light a body of discourse on children, childhood development, and education prominent in Russia in the late nineteenth century. Chekhov's Children accords this topic the significance it deserves by placing Chekhov's model of childhood within the broad context of his time and reassessing established notions about the child's place in the author's oeuvre.

Author : Olga Tabachnikova
Publisher : Anthem Press
Page : 313 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2012-10-01
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 0857282271

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Anton Chekhov Through the Eyes of Russian Thinkers by Olga Tabachnikova Pdf

The collection is comprised of twelve scholarly essays written by leading Chekhov specialists from around the world, each analysing an interpretation of Chekhov by one of three Russian thinkers of the Silver Age of Russian culture - Vasilii Rozanov, Dmitrii Merezhkovskii and Lev Shestov. It thus examines the hitherto under-researched relationship between the origins and the results of the cultural phase that came to be known as the Silver Age, and focuses specifically on the complex connections betweens Chekhov's legacy and the Russian culture of that period.

Author : Vladimir Kataev
Publisher : Ivan R. Dee Publisher
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 1566635233

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If Only We Could Know! by Vladimir Kataev Pdf

In this luminous book of criticism, Chekhov's foremost Russian interpreter offers to Western readers a remarkably clear and commanding appraisal of the master's work.

Author : Harvey J. Pitcher
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 1973
Category : Russian drama
ISBN : UOM:39076006132562

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The Chekhov Play: a New Interpretation by Harvey J. Pitcher Pdf

Author : Jonathan Cole
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 241 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2023-12-14
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9781350367487

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Chekhov’s Sakhalin Journey by Jonathan Cole Pdf

Chekhov often said that 'I am a doctor by trade and sometimes I do literary work in my free time', a surprising claim, given his status as a giant of 20th century drama. This literary-biographical study uncovers new sides to him, as both a medical professional and humanitarian, and tells the story of Chekhov's trip to Sakhalin Island in the harsh wastes of Siberia. Anton Chekhov practiced medicine for most of his life and engaged in humanitarian work which took him away from writing for months. He placed one such trip though, across the unforgiving terrain of Siberia to write about the penal island of Sakhalin, above all others. Chekhov's Sakhalin Journey, written by a neuroscientist and practicing clinician, uses this trip and Chekhov's own account of it to shed light on hitherto overlooked aspects of his life. In doing so, it shows that to understand the man we need his medicine as well as his literature, and we need to assess his life from his perspective as well as ours.

Author : Harai Golomb
Publisher : Liverpool University Press
Page : 408 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2014-01-01
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9781782841272

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New Poetics of Chekhov's Major Plays by Harai Golomb Pdf

This text attempts to map the unique structure and meaning that comprise Chekhov's immensely rich artistic universe. The prime components of his theatrical technique and fictional world are explored to uncover the basic principles governing the Chekhov's universe.

Author : Daniel S. Burt
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 636 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2001-02-28
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9780313017261

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The Biography Book by Daniel S. Burt Pdf

From Marilyn to Mussolini, people captivate people. A&E's Biography, best-selling autobiographies, and biographical novels testify to the popularity of the genre. But where does one begin? Collected here are descriptions and evaluations of over 10,000 biographical works, including books of fact and fiction, biographies for young readers, and documentaries and movies, all based on the lives of over 500 historical figures from scientists and writers, to political and military leaders, to artists and musicians. Each entry includes a brief profile, autobiographical and primary sources, and recommended works. Short reviews describe the pertinent biographical works and offer insight into the qualities and special features of each title, helping readers to find the best biographical material available on hundreds of fascinating individuals.

Author : Anton Chekhov
Publisher : DigiCat
Page : 43 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2022-08-10
Category : Art
ISBN : EAN:8596547161691

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The Murder by Anton Chekhov Pdf

'The Murder' is a short story written by Anton Chekhov. It begins at the evening service celebrated at Progonnaya Station. Before the great ikon, painted in glaring colors on a background of gold, stood the crowd of railway servants with their wives and children, and also of the timbermen and sawyers who worked close to the railway line. All stood in silence, fascinated by the glare of the lights and the howling of the snow-storm which was aimlessly disporting itself outside, regardless of the fact that it was the Eve of the Annunciation. The old priest from Vedenyapino conducted the service; the sacristan and Matvey Terehov were singing.

Author : Donald Rayfield
Publisher : Faber & Faber
Page : 594 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2013-11-07
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780571309290

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Anton Chekhov by Donald Rayfield Pdf

The description 'definitive' is too easily used, but Donald Rayfield's biography of Chekhov merits it unhesitatingly. To quote no less an authority than Michael Frayn: 'With question the definitive biography of Chekhov, and likely to remain so for a very long time to come. Donald Rayfield starts with the huge advantage of much new material that was prudishly suppressed under the Soviet regime, or tactfully ignored by scholars. But his mastery of all the evidence, both old and new - a massive archive - is magisterial, his background knowledge of the period is huge; his Russian is sensitive to every colloquial nuance of the day, and his tone is sure. He captures a likeness of the notoriously elusive Chekhov which at last begins to seem recognisably human - and even more extraordinary.' Chekhov's life was short, he was only forty-four when he died, and dogged with ill-health but his plays and short stories assure him of his place in the literary pantheon. Here is a biography that does him full justice, in short, unapologetically to repeat that word 'definitive'. 'I don't remember any monograph by a Western scholar on a Russian author having such success. . . Nikita Mikhalkov said that before this book came out we didn't know Chekhov. . . The author doesn't invent, add or embellish anything . . . Rayfield is motivated by the Westerner's urge not ot hold information back, however grim it may be.' Anatoli Smelianski, Director of Moscow Arts Theatre School 'It is hard to imagine another book about Chekhov after this one by Donald Rayfield.' Arthur Miller, Sunday Times 'Donald Rayfield's exemplary biography draws on a daunting array of material inacessible or ignored by his predecessors.' Nikolai Tolstoy, The Literary Review 'Donald Rayfield, Chekhov's best and definitive biographer.' William Boyd, Guardian

Author : John Tulloch
Publisher : University of Iowa Press
Page : 329 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2009-05
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781587296000

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Shakespeare and Chekhov in Production and Reception by John Tulloch Pdf

With a focus on the canonical institutions of Shakespeare and Chekhov, John Tulloch brings together for the first time new concepts of “the theatrical event” with live audience analysis. Using mainstream theatre productions from across the globe that were highly successful according to both critics and audiences, this book of case studies—ethnographies of production and reception—offers a combined cultural and media studies approach to analyzing theatre history, production, and audience. Tulloch positions these concepts and methodologies within a broader current theatrical debate between postmodernity and risk modernity. He also describes the continuing history of Shakespeare and Chekhov as a series of stories “currently and locally told” in the context of a blurring of academic genres that frames the two writers. Drawn from research conducted over nearly a decade in Australia, Britain, and the U.S., Shakespeare and Chekhov in Production and Reception will be of interest to students and scholars of theatre studies, media studies, and audience research.

Author : Michael C. Finke,Michael Holquist
Publisher : Modern Language Association
Page : 248 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2016-02-01
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781603292696

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Approaches to Teaching the Works of Anton Chekhov by Michael C. Finke,Michael Holquist Pdf

Chekhov's works are unflinching in the face of human frailty. With their emphasis on the dignity and value of individuals during unique moments, they help us better understand how to exist with others when we are fundamentally alone. Written in Russia at the end of the nineteenth century, when the country began to move fitfully toward industrialization and grappled with the influence of Western liberalism even as it remained an autocracy, Chekhov's plays and stories continue to influence contemporary writers. The essays in this volume provide classroom strategies for teaching Chekhov's stories and plays, discuss how his medical training and practice related to his literary work, and compare Chekhov with writers both Russian and American. The volume also aims to help instructors with the daunting array of new editions in English, as well as with the ever-growing list of titles in visual media: filmed theater productions of his plays, adaptations of the plays and stories scripted for film, and amateur performances freely available online.