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The Four Major Plays: The Seagull / Uncle Vanya / Three Sisters / Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov

The Four Major Plays: The Seagull / Uncle Vanya / Three Sisters / Cherry Orchard

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The Four Major Plays: The Seagull / Uncle Vanya / Three Sisters / Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov

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You can remove the unavailable item s now or we'll automatically remove it at Checkout. Continue shopping Checkout Continue shopping. Chi ama i libri sceglie Kobo e inMondadori. If I weren't such a stickler for translation, I would make Senelick my "reading for pleasure" edition. Hoping to get my hands on a translation by Frayn as well!

Don't quote me on that. Feb 20, Matt rated it it was amazing Shelves: These plays move me in a way which I can't describe. Or, rather, I probably could but it would be endless and personal and boring. I think this is modern suburbia in embryo; it is also, of course, seeped in "The Russian Character. For that thin tissue of humanity billowing in the wind over the void "thing" he's the one you want.

How much life do we lose, in living? How much have we lost already? The actors are all veterans of stage and screen who meet every so often in a crumbling theater to put on the eponymous play for friends and relatives and they literally just walk in off the street and get into the stir of the play.

I had an audition for 'Cherry Orchard' so I thought I would read all four major plays to check off Chekhov from my list. I liked these a lot better than I thought I would, but this is partly because I had tried to read them before in a different translation and just couldn't maintain interest. These are pretty new translations by Carol Rocamora and they read pretty well.

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I felt like I could understand what was happening a little better, and the humor came out more. One thing I don't really understand is why he gets through these plays with a lot of realism and wit, and then always manages to tack a long 'we will endure! Those speeches seem thrown in. It's also funny that people are always saying awkward expository things at the start of these plays. The other thing about these plays is that they always refer to characters in about a hundred different ways, and it's hard to keep up.

Someone will mention Vatiky Vatikovitch in act III and I'm like, who the hell is Vatiky Vatikovitch, so I look in the character list, and it says that Vatikovitch is Popov, a local lieutenant, who has been in the play from the start. And then the next sentence they are calling him Popotchka or Popseyvitch or something. Did everyone in era Russia have local lieutenants and barons? I wonder if people watching this then would be laughing and saying 'It's so true! He's just like MY local lieutenant! And rightly so for the plays, filled with undersayings, carve a complex structure out of the amalgam of thoughts and feelings that litter the human psyche.

It would be unfair, though, to describe the pieces as an unintelligible rant. In fact, the plots and characters are robust and strongly developed and despite the apparent mayhem of an histrionic burgoise there is a very fine message that's never openly uttered but which lingers in the air and, as if poetic mist, hazes the dramatic landscape before settling on the heart of the reader. Despite the regret-filled thoughts that the characters have or acquire throughout the plays, I feel there reads a text other than the prophecy for the dark doom of humanity: Chekhov is a master.

I had her as a professor twice. She is so extraordinarily passionate about Russian literature that she seemed to become years younger while teaching The only thing I don't like about this translation is that though Carol retains Chekhov's poetry, her translation is a little too "American colloquial" at times. If I spoke Russian, I could explain this in detail, but as my only claim Chekhov is a master. If I spoke Russian, I could explain this in detail, but as my only claim to being Russian is my deceased great-grandparents, I am just left with the genetic-coding feeling of being Russian, and visceral sensation of being able to quickly judge an authentic or not authentic Russian translation.

Like any author translated often, I would compare the versions of different plays. I find it difficult to read certain classics.

Some books cast such a large shadow over literature that one's already encountered it somewhere else. It can leave the original tame in comparison. Chekhov has been inspirational with his realistic style as well as the more well known Chekhov's Gun. I think I remember countless movies ominously introducing a weapon of some sort and obviously telegraphing its use later on. It all comes from Chekhov. These are plays about loss and regret and also a gre I find it difficult to read certain classics.

These are plays about loss and regret and also a great deal of gun violence. I can see why the "Chekhov's Gun" reference has permeated so much storytelling. I really loved the Seagull for its Lear-like love. It also seemed ahead of its time for its play within a play format talking about a post-apocalyptic landscape that could be used to focus on environmental issues today. It was further poetic about the moon rise over a dead planet.

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The ending is tragic and a straightforward permanent solution to love lost. Uncle Vanya and the Three Sisters blended together a bit for me. There were insightful and funny, but also tragic lines. Here it is not even love lost, but never fully gained. The end of Uncle Vanya is probably the saddest I have ever read.

Essentially, the miserable characters will go on being miserable for the rest of their days until they meet a grateful death. Then, perhaps, God will see them and their misery. It was a little melodramatic for me.

The Four Major Plays: The Seagull / Uncle Vanya / Three Sisters / Cherry Orchard

The three sisters had a similar feel and ending. More of a tone of revenge at the end, but equal parts tragic. The Cherry Orchard is certainly the most famous play in this book. This one was tricky for me as the overall theme is the loss of a beautiful aristocratic home and orchard and all the memories that go with it. It is a lament of what was lost.

I saw a more communist perspective that crept in when I read it. Why shouldn't more people be able to enjoy the same place? Certainly, the loss of the orchard is needlessly tragic as we hear it being chopped down at the end of the play. However, one could also view it as the worker getting revenge against his uncaring aristocratic master. The same kind of theme that appears in The Three Sisters.

This seems like some sort of precursor for the Soviet Union that would dominate Russia soon after the play. Or perhaps recently reading A Gentleman in Moscow could have influenced my Reading. One can easily see the input of the classics and good minimalist writing technique. We know about Chekhov's Gun don't introduce something that you won't use later. Even Chekhov's last words before his death, "It's a long time since I drank champagne.

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Editorial Reviews. Review. “Chekhov, speaking simply and never otherwise than as an artist donnsboatshop.com: Chekhov: The Essential Plays: The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters & The Cherry Orchard (Modern Library Classics) eBook. One of the world's great masters of the short story, Anton Chekhov wrote about everyday life as he saw it - with humor, insight, and honesty. In this lies his.

I was very excited to find this book at a Friends book sale to add to my ever groaning bookshelf. It makes me want to recite the ode to the bookshelf from The Cherry Orchard When one has no real life, one lives on illusions. P It seems to me a man must have some faith or must seek a faith, otherwise, his life is empty, empty To live and not know why the cranes fly, why children are born, why there are stars in the sky P Happiness is something we never have, but only long for. P Dear, honored bookcase, I salute thy existence, which for over one hundred years has served the glorious ideals of goodness and justice; thy silent appeal to fruitful endeavor, unflagging in the course of a hundred years, tearfully sustaining through generations of our family, courage, and faith in a better future, and fostering in us ideals of goodness and social consciousness.

Aug 20, Mary rated it really liked it. I only read "The Seagull" this time around. Will have to get to "Three Sisters" another day.

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One thing I liked was that this was an up-to-date American translation. No musty period pieces here. This helped bring out the farcial aspects of the play. Overall, not as strong as his later wor I only read "The Seagull" this time around. Overall, not as strong as his later works--no surprise there--but he was already deft with characterization.

If you've read other stuff by Chekhov and enjoyed it, I'd recommend it. If you're new to him, it might be better to start with "Uncle Vanya" or some of the short stories. Aug 29, Vicki rated it it was amazing. I've lived with these plays since college, and revisit them through live theater or film. Sheer genius, I never tire of the insights and perfect use of language in these plays.

The Seagull A pretty good play, that double twist at the end of the play would be amazing to see acted out. This seems like a normal enough play, in that artists seem continually worried about artistic integrity. The introduction of the book suggested that Nina is the character who grows the most, but I'm not so convinced.

It's true that she is pursuing her passion to be an artist, but it is without support or cultivation.

She does have some talent, but she doesn't nurture it. She threw herself i The Seagull A pretty good play, that double twist at the end of the play would be amazing to see acted out. She threw herself into the world, focusing on wealth and fame. If she had succeeded, she would have become another Arkadina. Instead, by failing, I think she remains as selfish as Arkadina, but with tempered ambitions. Nina and Kostya, could have made a great professional team and built each other up, but didn't. Oh, should one even take the Seagull as a symbol? They practically mock it as an overused symbol, however, if one were to focus on it, I'll probably describe it as artistic integrity.

One could view Trepleva as a stuffed seagull or that Trepleva has turned Nina into a stuffed seagull. For what is the difference between Nina and Arkadina, except success. Uncle Vanya I really, really, liked this play. It's pretty straight forward, in that people are trying to justify an existence which as of yet, has been meaningless. I'm noticing a reoccurring theme, in that Checkov's characters constantly wonder whether their actions will amount to anything in the long run.

One of my favourite scenes is when Astrov is showing a map of the forest with its changes over the years. The change is indirect, one can only see it on a map years after, and yet, their actions do have consequences. But there is always that acknowledgement that the future won't acknowledge the sacrifices of the past.

I think this is the true purpose of the play. Serebryakov, despite his age, acts without consideration of time and history. He takes and takes without acknowledging the contributions of others. He borrows from the past and from the future. He acts like his accomplishments are his own, and has earned rest, even though the people who contributed most to his life get no rest. He is selfish such as how a generation in the grand scheme of history is selfish. This was an emotional play for me and I loved every line of it. Three Sisters A sad, depressing play. There is this perpetual atmosphere of dull gloom, a feeling of impotence.

I feel like there is not much to say with this play just because so many of the same themes are reoccurring. Will we ever amount to much in the sum of our lives? What does the future hold? There is a new focus on memory though and how boring people and tedious work will dull one's inner spark. I really liked the quote, "Where has it all gone to? O my God, my God.

I've forgotten everything, everything. Everything's jumbled up inside my head I can't remember how to say 'window' in Italian I forget something every day. And life moves on and will never come back, never. In a way, it is very relatable. There are concerns of gentrification and how old ways are no longer sustainable in this day an age. I read this play with more frustration than sympathy. The aristocrats were living beyond their means and even though it is sad that the cherry orchard, it could have been saved if they had any proper understanding of finances.

I feel like we are expected to treat Lopakhin as a good character, but a representation of a new, greedy way of life. However, at least he is genuine. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. This translation is very good. I'm removing a star because the footnotes don't work and I had to go back and forth manually between the text and the notes. That's a huge problem for a Kindle edition. A marvelous translation, far superior to others with which I compared it.

Just what I expected! It seems like new.. Good introduction before you get into the plays. Keep up the good work Thanks. See all 12 reviews. Most recent customer reviews. Published on April 24, Published on August 25, Published on February 17, Published on October 30, Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers.

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This raises questions about writers and the works of art they create. To ask other readers questions about The Four Major Plays , please sign up. It never feels as if it is a lazy ending, but more like a thoughtful, soft ending, that leaves much to be reflected. Chi ama i libri sceglie Kobo e inMondadori. The nurse says to him and compared to the dialogue and speeches before this the line is rather bare and blunt:

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