Anton Chekhov

Introduction

Of all the great Russian writers in literary history, Anton Chekhov stands as perhaps the most touching and immediately accessible. He is remembered primarily for advancing two forms—the play and the short story. As a playwright, Chekhov emphasized mood over plot and is credited with influencing countless dramatists from his period onward, even though he wrote only five full-length plays during his lifetime: Ivanov, The Cherry Orchard, The Three Sisters, The Seagull, and Uncle Vanya. As a writer of short fiction, he perfected a tone of sympathetic detachment when describing the misfortunes of his characters. Chekhov’s work in the genre has influenced canonical writers as diverse as Raymond Chandler, Franz Kafka, and Ernest Hemingway.

Essential Facts

1. Chekhov’s grandfather was a serf who bought his freedom, and his father worked in and owned a grocery shop.
2. As a young man, Chekhov was profoundly influenced by Russian literary giant Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy, however, did not later return the admiration: he reportedly hated Chekhov’s plays.
3. After Chekhov graduated from Moscow University in 1884, he practiced medicine for several years.
4. One of his most famous plays, The Seagull, was a complete flop when it premiered in St. Petersburg in 1896; however, it caught the eye of two very important men: Constantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. When the two formed the Moscow Art Theatre two years later, they produced The Seagull to great acclaim. This artistic relationship became the most important of Chekhov’s life.
5. Chekhov battled tuberculosis for most of his short life. He eventually succumbed to the disease in 1904 at the age of 44.