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

The last comedy play of A.P. Chekhov became the "Cherry Orchard". After the play "Three Sisters", to some extent a tragic work, Chekhov suddenly thought about the new. And for some reason he wanted, and even wrote about it to his friends, that this time she was very funny, at least according to the plan. To answer the question about "The Cherry Orchard" is a drama or a comedy, it is worth noting that the author himself defined it to the second genre. However, during the life of Chekhov, when the first production at the Moscow Art Theater took place, the play was presented as a heavy drama and even a tragedy.

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

Then where is the truth? Drama, by definition, is a literary work that is primarily intended for stage life. It is on the stage that it acquires its full-fledged existence, reveals the meaning embedded in it, which further determines its genre. But the last word in the definition of the genre, however that may be, was always behind the theater, directors and actors. It is a well-known fact that Chekhov's innovative ideas as a playwright were acquired by theaters and were 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, the essay on this subject can be based on the MKhAT's traditional interpretation that it is a dramatic elegy - a definition that was assigned to the play by the authorities of the 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.

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

According to the plot of the play, the former masters of the estate already say goodbye to their ancestral nest. In the second half of the 19th century, even before Chekhov, this topic was often covered in Russian literature dramatically, tragically, and comically. Let's try to figure out what the specifics of the solution to this problem are and how to correctly perceive the "Cherry Orchard" - a drama or a comedy it.

This attitude of Chekhov was determined by the fact that capitalism replaced capitalism, which is gradually becoming obsolete and disappearing into social oblivion, and this is very clearly expressed in the images of Ranevskaya, a ruined noblewoman, and Lopakhin, a wealthy man, and the grandson of a former serf. In these two classes Chekhov saw the successors of Russian culture. In the nobility, the writer saw first and foremost the focus of Russian culture. Here, of course, do not forget about the serfdom, which is mentioned in the play, but still in the first place is culture.

Ranevskaya and Lopakhin

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

Another key protagonist is Lopakhin, who is exactly the same as her. He also loves poetry, he has delicate and delicate fingers, like an artist, a sensitive and vulnerable soul. In Ranevskaya he strongly feels his soul. However, the vulgarity of life began to attack him from all sides, and he acquires some traits of a merchant-merchant who accentuates his democratic origin and even flaunts with unculturedness, which was then a prestigious norm in "advanced circles." But he too is waiting for Ranevskaya to near her somehow purify herself and try again to resume her artistic and poetic passions and passions. To thoroughly understand the question of whether the "Cherry Orchard" is a drama or a comedy, one must go to a deeper analysis of the work.

Patronage

So, such a view of Chekhov's capitalists really relied 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 on the example of such large capitalist patrons as Mamontov, Zimin, Morozov, who contained entire theaters. Or take the Tretyakov brothers, who founded the famous art gallery in the capital, or the merchant's son Alexeyev, who is more 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.

But if we talk about Lopakhin, he is a capitalist of a different order, and that is why he did not succeed in his relations with Varya. After all, they are not a couple, she is a subtle poetic soul, he is a rich merchant, a mundane and ordinary nature. For him Varya, the adopted daughter of Ranevskaya, has become, alas, the prose of life.

Chekhov

Considering deeper the theme "The problem of the genre. "The Cherry Orchard": a drama or a comedy ", it is worth noting that Anton Pavlovich reflected in her many of his life's impressions and visions. This sale of the native estate in Taganrog, and the acquaintance with Kiselev, who became the prototype of the hero of Gaeva, he had a Chekhov family for two consecutive years, from 1885 to 1887, in the Babkino estate, resting in the summer, it was sold for debts.

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

"The Cherry Orchard". Reviews

Work on the work "The Cherry Orchard" was given very difficultly, the sick Chekhov wrote to friends that he was working with unbearable torments and wrote four lines a day. About the play "Cherry Orchard", he also wrote to MP Alekseeva that he had not a drama but a comedy, and even a farce in some places. OL Knipper will note that the play is quite cheerful and frivolous. But KS Stanislavsky took her to the drama of Russian life, he would write: "This is not a comedy, it's a tragedy ... I cried like a woman."

And now, returning to the question of "The Cherry Orchard" -a drama, comedy or tragedy, it must be said that at the premiere of the play on the day of his birth, January 17, 1904, it seemed to Chekhov that the theater represented it not in that tone, That this is not a tearful drama, and the role of Lopukhin and Vary in general should be comic. But Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko, judging highly the play, nevertheless took it more as a drama. There were critics who considered her a tragicomedy. But AI Revyakin writes in his review that if we recognize the play as a drama, then we must recognize the experiences of all the Ranevsky and Gayev's owners as truly dramatic, evoking compassion and deep sympathy for those who looked not to the past but to the future. But this is not and can not be. Therefore, the play can not be taken as a tragicomedy, because it lacks tragicomic situations and heroes for this.

Disputes

Disputes about the genre - "The Cherry Orchard" - a drama or a comedy, still do not stop. Moreover, the range has expanded to include a lyrical comedy or tragicomedy. Therefore, it is already unequivocal to answer the question that Chekhov involuntarily created: "The Cherry Orchard" is a drama or a comedy? "It turns out to be practically impossible.

And once again, referring to the letters written by the great classic of Russian literature and playwright A.P. Chekhov, we find lines in which his true attitude to life is described, where it is indicated that after winter there will necessarily be winter, after Youth will come old age, happiness and misfortune, too, periodically and will change each other, and a person can not always be healthy and cheerful, because as always there will be failures and losses, and he will never be saved from death, even if he By Macedon m. In life, however sad and sad it may seem, one must be ready for everything and treat the events as inevitable and necessary. "It is only necessary to fulfill its duty as much as possible - and nothing more." In the work "Cherry Orchard", all these thoughts are in tune with the feelings that it evokes.

Conclusion

Chekhov argues that fiction has such a name because it describes life as it is. And it has its own purpose - to bring truth unconditional and honest. That is how it is possible to finish the discussion of the question, "The Cherry Orchard" is a tragedy, a drama or a comedy. Everyone can write an essay on this topic, because it is quite extensive and requires consideration of various points of view.