Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (Russian: Рнтон Павлович
Чехов[note 1], IPA: [É nˈton ˈpavÉ«É™vʲɪtÉ• ˈtÉ•É›xÉ™f]; 29
January 1860[note 2] â€" 15 July 1904[note 3]) was a Russian
playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be among the
greatest writers of short fiction in history. His career as a
playwright produced four classics, and his best short stories are held
in high esteem by writers and critics. Along with Henrik Ibsen and
August Strindberg, Chekhov is often referred to as one of the three
seminal figures in the birth of early modernism in the theatre.
Chekhov practiced as a medical doctor throughout most of his literary
career: "Medicine is my lawful wife", he once said, "and literature is
my mistress."Chekhov renounced the theatre after the reception of The
Seagull in 1896, but the play was revived to acclaim in 1898 by
Konstantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre, which subsequently also
produced Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and premiered his last two plays, Three
Sisters and The Cherry Orchard. These four works present a challenge
to the acting ensemble as well as to audiences, because in place of
conventional action Chekhov offers a "theatre of mood" and a
"submerged life in the text".Chekhov had at first written stories to
earn money, but as his artistic ambition grew, he made formal
innovations which have influenced the evolution of the modern short
story. He made no apologies for the difficulties this posed to
readers, insisting that the role of an artist was to ask questions,
not to answer them.
Чехов[note 1], IPA: [É nˈton ˈpavÉ«É™vʲɪtÉ• ˈtÉ•É›xÉ™f]; 29
January 1860[note 2] â€" 15 July 1904[note 3]) was a Russian
playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be among the
greatest writers of short fiction in history. His career as a
playwright produced four classics, and his best short stories are held
in high esteem by writers and critics. Along with Henrik Ibsen and
August Strindberg, Chekhov is often referred to as one of the three
seminal figures in the birth of early modernism in the theatre.
Chekhov practiced as a medical doctor throughout most of his literary
career: "Medicine is my lawful wife", he once said, "and literature is
my mistress."Chekhov renounced the theatre after the reception of The
Seagull in 1896, but the play was revived to acclaim in 1898 by
Konstantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre, which subsequently also
produced Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and premiered his last two plays, Three
Sisters and The Cherry Orchard. These four works present a challenge
to the acting ensemble as well as to audiences, because in place of
conventional action Chekhov offers a "theatre of mood" and a
"submerged life in the text".Chekhov had at first written stories to
earn money, but as his artistic ambition grew, he made formal
innovations which have influenced the evolution of the modern short
story. He made no apologies for the difficulties this posed to
readers, insisting that the role of an artist was to ask questions,
not to answer them.
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