FREE THE SEAGULL, THE PDF Anton Pavlovich Chekhov,Stephen Mulrine | 92 pages | 01 Sep 1997 | NICK HERN BOOKS | 9781854591937 | English | London, United Kingdom The Seagull - Wikipedia The Seagull is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises the The Seagull and artistic conflicts between four characters: the famous middlebrow story writer Boris Trigorin, the ingenue Nina, the fading actress Irina Arkadina, and her son the symbolist playwright Konstantin Treplyov. Though the character of Trigorin is considered Chekhov's greatest male role The Seagull citation needed ]like Chekhov's other full-length plays, The Seagull relies upon an ensemble cast of diverse, fully developed characters. In contrast to the melodrama of mainstream 19th-century theatrelurid actions such as Konstantin's suicide The are not shown onstage. Characters tend to speak in ways that skirt around issues rather than addressing them The Seagull in other words, their lines are full of what is known in dramatic practice as subtext. The opening night of the first production was a famous failure. Vera Komissarzhevskayaplaying Nina, was so intimidated by the hostility of the The that she lost her voice. The supporters wrote to him that the production later became a success, he assumed that they were merely trying to be kind. Stanislavski's production became "one of the greatest events in the history of Russian theatre and one of the greatest new developments in the history of world drama ". Stanislavski's direction caused The Seagull to be perceived as a tragedy through overzealousness with the concept of subtext, whereas Chekhov intended it to be a comedy. The purchasing the The farm inChekhov had built in the middle of a cherry orchard a lodge consisting of three rooms, one containing a bed and another The writing table. In spring, when the cherries were The blossom, it was pleasant to live in this The Seagull, but The winter it was so buried in the snow The pathways had to be cut to it The Seagull drifts as high as a man. Chekhov eventually moved in The Seagull in a letter written in October wrote:. I am writing a play which I shall probably not finish before the end of November. I am writing it not without The, though I swear The at the conventions of the stage. It's a comedy, there are three women's parts, six men's, four acts, landscapes view over a lake ; a The deal of conversation about literature, little action, tons of love. Thus he acknowledged a departure from traditional dramatic action. This departure would become a critical hallmark of the Chekhovian theater. Chekhov's statement also reflects his view of the play as comedy, a viewpoint he would maintain towards all The plays. After the play's The Seagull opening night his friend Aleksey Suvorin chided him as being "womanish" and accused him of being in "a funk. Why this libel? After the performance I had supper at Romanov's. On my word of honour. Then I went to bed, slept soundly, and next day went home without uttering a sound of complaint. If I had been in a funk I should have run from editor to editor and actor to actor, should have nervously entreated them to be considerate, should nervously have inserted useless corrections and should have spent two or three weeks in Petersburg fussing over my Seagull, in excitement, in a cold perspiration, in lamentation I acted as coldly and reasonably as a man who has made an offer, received The Seagull refusal, The Seagull has nothing left but to go. Yes, my vanity was stung, but you know it was not a bolt from the blue; I was expecting a failure, and was prepared for it, as I The you with perfect The beforehand. I thought that if I had written and put on the stage a play so obviously brimming The Seagull with monstrous defects, I had lost all instinct and that, therefore, my machinery must have gone wrong for good. The eventual success of The play, both in the remainder of its first run and in the subsequent staging by the The Art Theatre under Stanislavskiwould encourage Chekhov to remain The playwright The Seagull lead to The overwhelming success of his next endeavor Uncle Vanyaand indeed to The rest of his dramatic work. The play takes place on a country estate owned by Pjotr The, a retired senior civil servant in failing health. He is the brother of the famous actress Irina Arkadina, who has just arrived at The Seagull estate for a brief The with her lover, the writer Boris Trigorin. The Seagull Sorin and his guests gather at an outdoor stage to see an unconventional play that Irina's son, Konstantin Treplyov, has written and directed. The play-within-a-play features Nina Zarechnaya, a young woman who lives on a neighboring estate, as the "soul of the world" in a time far in the future. The play is Konstantin's latest attempt at creating a new theatrical formand is a dense symbolist work. Irina laughs at the play, finding it ridiculous and incomprehensible; the performance ends prematurely after audience interruption and Konstantin storms off in humiliation. Irina does The seem concerned about her son, who has not found his way in the The. Although others The Konstantin's drama, the physician Yevgeny Dorn praises him. Act I also sets up the play's various romantic triangles. Masha, in turn, is in love with Konstantin, who is in love with Nina, The Nina falls for the writer, Boris. Polina, married to Ilya, is in The affair with the doctor, Yevgeny. The Seagull Masha tells Yevgeny about her longing for Konstantin, Yevgeny helplessly The the lake for making everybody feel romantic. Act II takes place in the afternoon outside of The Seagull estate, a few days later. The Seagull reminiscing about happier times, Arkadina becomes engaged in a heated argument with the house steward Shamrayev The decides to leave immediately. Nina lingers behind after the group leaves, and Konstantin shows up to give her a seagull that he has shot. Nina is confused and horrified at the gift. Konstantin sees Trigorin approaching, and leaves in a jealous fit. Nina asks Trigorin The Seagull tell her about the writer's life; he replies that it is not an easy one. Nina says that she knows the life of an actress is not easy either, but she wants more than anything to be one. Trigorin sees the seagull that Konstantin has shot and muses on how he could use it as a subject for a short The "A young girl lives all her life on the shore of a lake. She loves the lake, like a seagull, and she's happy and free, like a seagull. But a man arrives by chance, and when he sees her, he destroys her, out of sheer boredom. Like this seagull. Nina lingers behind, enthralled with Trigorin's celebrity and modesty, and gushes, "My dream! Between acts Konstantin attempted suicide by shooting himself in the head, but the bullet only grazed his skull. He spends the majority of Act III with his scalp heavily bandaged. Nina finds Trigorin eating breakfast and presents him with a medallion that proclaims her devotion to him using a line from one of Trigorin's own books: "If you ever need my life, come and take it. Arkadina appears, followed by Sorin, whose health has continued to deteriorate. Trigorin leaves The continue packing. There is a brief argument between Arkadina and Sorin, after which Sorin collapses in grief. He is helped off by Medvedenko. Konstantin enters and asks his mother to change his bandage. As she is doing this, Konstantin disparages Trigorin and there is another argument. When Trigorin reenters, Konstantin leaves in tears. Trigorin The Seagull Arkadina if they can stay at the estate. She flatters and cajoles him until he The to return The Seagull her to Moscow. After she has left the room, The Seagull comes to say her final goodbye to Trigorin and to inform him that she is running away to become an actress, against her parents' wishes. They kiss passionately and make plans to meet again The Moscow. Act IV takes place during the winter two years later, in the drawing room that has been converted to The study. Masha has finally accepted Medvedenko's marriage proposal, and they have a child together, though Masha still nurses an unrequited love for Konstantin. Various characters discuss what has happened in the two years that have passed: Nina and Trigorin lived together in Moscow for a time until The Seagull abandoned The and went back to Arkadina. Nina never achieved any real success as an actress, and is currently on a tour of the provinces with a small theatre group. Konstantin has had some short stories published, but is The Seagull depressed. Sorin's health is still failing, and the people The Seagull the estate have telegraphed for Arkadina to come for his final days. Most The Seagull the play's characters go to the drawing room to play a game of The Seagull. Konstantin does The join them, and spends this time working on a manuscript at his desk. After the group leaves to eat dinner, Konstantin hears someone at the back door. He is surprised The find Nina, whom he invites inside. Nina tells Konstantin about her life The the last two years. She starts The compare herself to the seagull that Konstantin killed in Act II, then rejects that The Seagull says "I am an actress.