"Cherry Orchard" - drama or comedy (composition)? The problem of the genre

The last comedy play by A.P. Chekhov became "The Cherry Orchard." After the play “Three Sisters”, a somewhat tragic piece, Chekhov suddenly thought about a new one. And for some reason, he wanted to, and even wrote about it to his friends, so that this time she was very funny, if only by design. To answer the question of “Cherry Orchard” is a drama or comedy, it is worth noting that the author himself defined it for the second genre. However, even during the life of Chekhov, when the first production was held at the Moscow Art Theater, the play was presented as a heavy drama and even tragedy.

Cherry Orchard Drama or Comedy

"Cherry Orchard" - a drama or a comedy? The writing

Then where is the truth? Drama, by definition, is a literary work that is designed primarily for stage life. It is on the stage that she finds her full existence, reveals the meaning embedded in it, which further defines her genre. But the final word in the definition of the genre, however, has always been with the theater, directors and actors. It is a well-known fact that Chekhov's innovative ideas as a playwright by theaters were assimilated and perceived reluctantly and not immediately, but for a long time and with great difficulty. If we write about “The Cherry Orchard” - a drama or a comedy, an essay on this topic can be based on the Moscow Art Theater’s traditional interpretation that this is a dramatic elegy - a definition that was fixed to the play by the authorities of theatrical art, such as Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko. Chekhov on this occasion then still managed to express his indignation to the theater with such an interpretation.

issue of the genre cherry garden drama or comedy

"Cherry Orchard" - a drama or a comedy? Briefly about everything

According to the plot of the play, the former owners of the estate say goodbye to their family nest. In the second half of the XIX century, even before Chekhov, this topic was often covered in Russian literature dramatically, and tragically, and comically. Let's try to figure out what are the features of solving this problem and how to correctly perceive the “Cherry Orchard” - is it a drama or comedy.

Such an attitude of Chekhov was determined by the fact that capitalism was replacing the nobility, which is gradually becoming obsolete and becoming social nonexistence, and this is very clearly expressed in the images of Ranevskaya, a ruined noblewoman, and Lopakhin, a rich man and grandson of a former serf. In these two classes Chekhov saw the successors of Russian culture. In the nobility, the writer saw, first of all, the center of Russian culture. Here, of course, one should not forget about serfdom, which is mentioned in the play, but still culture comes first.

Chekhov Cherry Orchard Drama or Comedy

Ranevskaya and Lopakhin

One of the main characters is Ranevskaya, she is the mistress of the estate and his soul. And this is why, despite all her vices and frivolity (and many theaters emphasize that she became a drug addict in Paris), when she returned to her homeland in her father's house, everything changed and came to life. The inhabitants, seemingly forever abandoned, reached into the house.

Another key protagonist is Lopakhin, who exactly matches her. He also loves poetry, he has delicate and thin fingers, like an artist, a sensitive and vulnerable soul. In Ranevskaya he strongly feels his soulmate. However, the vulgarity of life from all sides began to tread on him, and he takes on some features of a merchant-boy who focuses on his democratic background and even flaunts uncivilization, which was then the prestigious norm in “advanced circles”. But he, too, is waiting for Ranevskaya to cleanse herself near her and try to renew her artistic and poetic hobbies and addictions again. To carefully deal with the question of “Cherry Orchard” is a drama or comedy, you need to go for a deeper analysis of the work.

cherry orchard drama or comedy briefly

Patronage

So, Chekhov’s vision of capitalists really rested on real facts. Then many people who became rich by the end of the century showed great interest, care and love for culture. This can be seen in the example of such major capitalist patrons as Mamontov, Zimin, Morozov, who contained whole theaters. Or take the Tretyakov brothers, who founded the famous art gallery in the capital, or the merchant son Alekseev, who is best known to us under the pseudonym Stanislavsky. By the way, he brought not only great creative potential to the theater, but also all his father’s wealth, which was also considerable.

Cherry Orchard Drama or Comedy Composition

But speaking of Lopakhin, he is a capitalist of a different order, and that is why he did not succeed in relations with Varya. After all, they are not a couple at all, she is a subtle poetic soul, he is already a wealthy merchant, a mundane and ordinary nature. For him, Varya, the adopted daughter of Ranevskaya, became, alas, the prose of life.

Chekhov

Looking deeper into the topic “The problem of the genre. “The Cherry Orchard: Drama or Comedy”, it is worth noting that Anton Pavlovich reflected in it many of his life impressions and visions. This is the sale of his native estate in Taganrog, and his acquaintance with Kiselyov, who became the prototype of the hero Gaev, in his estate Babkino the Chekhov family spent two years in a row, from 1885 to 1887, rested in the summer, it was sold for debts.

When Chekhov visited the Lintvarevs estate in the Kharkov province, he saw many neglected and ruined noble estates there, which prompted him to the plot of the play. It was in it that he wanted to display some details of the life of the former inhabitants of the old noble lands.

"The Cherry Orchard". Reviews

Work on the work “The Cherry Orchard” was very difficult. Patient Chekhov wrote to his friends that he works with unbearable torment and writes four lines a day. He will also write about the play “The Cherry Orchard” by M. P. Alekseeva that he did not come out with a drama, but a comedy, and even a farce in some places. O. L. Knipper will note that the play is quite cheerful and frivolous. But K.S. Stanislavsky attributed it to the drama of Russian life, and he writes: "This is not a comedy, this is a tragedy ... I cried like a woman."

cherry garden tragedy drama or comedy composition

And now, returning to the question of “The Cherry Orchard” - drama, comedy or tragedy, I must say that at the premiere of the play on the day of his birthday, January 17, 1904, it seemed to the theater that it was not in the right tone, that this is not a tearful drama, but the role of Lopukhin and Varya in general should be comic. But Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko, appreciating the play very highly, nevertheless perceived it more as a drama. There were critics who considered her a tragicomedy. But A.I. Revyakin in his review writes that if the play is recognized as a drama, then one must recognize the experiences of all the owners of Ranevsky and Gayev as truly dramatic, causing compassion and deep sympathy for those people who looked not into the past, but into the future. But this is not and cannot be. Therefore, the play cannot be taken as a tragicomedy, because for this she doesn’t have any tragicomic situations or heroes.

Disputes

Disputes about the genre - “The Cherry Orchard” - drama or comedy, still do not stop. Moreover, the range has expanded even to the circle of lyrical comedy or tragicomedy. Therefore, it is already unambiguous to answer the question that Chekhov involuntarily created: “The Cherry Orchard - drama or comedy?”, Is practically impossible.

And once again, referring to the letters written by the great classic of Russian literature and playwright A.P. Chekhov, we will find lines that describe his true attitude to life, which indicates that winter will definitely come after summer, after youth will come old age, happiness and unhappiness will also periodically succeed from time to time, and a person cannot always be healthy and cheerful, because failures, losses will always await him, and he will never be able to save himself from death, even if he Macedon m. In life, no matter how sad and sad it may look, you need to be prepared for everything and treat events that are happening, as inevitability and necessary. "You only need to do your duty as best you can - and nothing more." In the work “The Cherry Orchard” all these thoughts are consonant with the feelings that it causes.

Cherry Orchard Drama or Comedy

Conclusion

Chekhov claims that fiction has such a name because it describes life as it is. And she has her own purpose - to carry the truth unconditional and honest. This is how one can end the discussion of the issue of “The Cherry Orchard” - a tragedy, drama or comedy. Everyone can write an essay on this subject, because it is quite extensive and requires consideration of various points of view.


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