Like Ernest Hemingway in America, Chekhov began as a journalist charting the impact of modern forces on life in the Russia of his time. His time was one very rich in literary experimentation and achievement, a wave of activity that lasted beyond the Revolution until Stalin cracked down on culture and the arts. Chekhov, a medical doctor, died at 44 in 1904 from tuberculosis—but his influence continues to percolate through world literature.

We’ll look at several of his short stories and his four most prominent plays. If you go to his Wikipedia entry, you’ll find this assessment: “...an effort to recreate and express the realism of how people truly act and speak with each other.” This realistic manifestation of the human condition may engender in audiences’ reflection on what it means to be human. Modern life unleashed forces that displaced traditional forms and blurred values. Newly isolated people were thrown back on their powers of inventiveness. This is the “feel” of the world Chekhov presents to his readers and the audience of his plays. To stage his work effectively, Stanislavsky, director of the Moscow Art Theater, developed what is now called Method Acting. (Limit 20)