Anton Chekhov
Russia's greatest playwright, Chekhov invented a drama of mood, subtext, and inaction that transformed how theater depicts human experience. His four major plays capture the paralysis and longing of the Russian intelligentsia at the century's end. He also wrote some of the finest short stories in world literature.
Works
- The Lady with the DogShort story of rekindled love between married people during a vacation
- Ward No. 6Novella depicting asylum ward reflecting human reason and rationality questioned
- The BishopNovella about aging bishop reflecting on life, faith, and approaching death
- The DuelNovella exploring moral conflict and psychological tension between two former rivals
- In the RavineNovella portraying moral corruption in rural family affected by greed and avarice
- The Cherry OrchardPlay depicting middle-class family facing loss of their beloved cherry orchard estate
- The SeagullPlay portraying artistic failure, lost love, and suicide among provincial theater people
- Uncle VanyaPlay depicting family members in provincial life seeking meaning and fulfillment
- Three SistersPlay exploring unfulfilled dreams and spiritual emptiness among three sisters longing elsewhere
- IvanovPlay of a man's moral and spiritual crisis and his emotional downfall