The Cherry Orchard Essay - 852 Words

The Cherry Orchard The Misunderstood Comedy When the first production of The Cherry Orchard was performed on stage in Moscow, there was a significant difference of opinion between the author and directors. Chekhov strongly faulted the directors interpretation that the play should be preformed as a tragedy and insisted that what he had written was a comedy. The famous philosopher Aristotle defined a comedy as quot;an imitation of characters of a lower type who are not bad in themselves but whose faults possess something ludicrous in them.quot; The misinterpretation of The Cherry Orchard could be mainly due to a misunderstanding of the comic character. A quot;comicquot; character is generally supposed to†¦show more content†¦It is this that forms the ludicrous or comic essence of Lyubovs character. True, Lyubov’s character does have her tragic moments. At the end of act four, Ania refers to her mother as to having been crying all morning. Lyubov also expresses a lot of stress from not having money, even though her actions do not show it. The main theme of the play can be generally taken to be the passing of the old order of Russian society, symbolized by the sale of the cherry orchard. Since Chekhov did not belong to the ranks of the Ranevsky family, unlike other authors who had written plays on the same theme, Chekhov wrote The Cherry Orchard without becoming personally involved. He was able to see the the comedy of the whole situation and give it an artistic form of a play full of comic characters. Nothing was further form Chekhovs thoughts then that his characters should spread a feeling of gloom or depression on his audience. Therefore the symbolism of the cherry orchard had nothing to do with its sale. All it expresses is one of the common reoccurringShow MoreRelatedThe Cherry Orchard2124 Words   |  9 PagesThe Cherry Orchard: Critical Analysis The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov is about a Russian family that is unable to prevent its beloved estate from being sold in an auction due to financial problems. The play has been dubbed a tragedy by many of its latter producers. However, Chekhov labeled his play a farce, or more of a comedy. Although this play has a very tragic backdrop of Russia#8217;s casualty-ridden involvement in both World Wars and the Communist Revolution, the characters andRead MoreCherry Orchard Analysis1685 Words   |  7 Pagesobject, place, or memory. In The Cherry Orchard, by Anton Chekov, Madame Ranevsky owns an estate with a cherry orchard. However, following the death of her son and husband, she fled to Paris and abandoned the orchard for over five years. 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In orderRead MoreEssay about The Cherry Orchard2020 Words   |  9 Pages The Cherry Orchard: Critical Analysis nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov is about a Russian family that is unable to prevent its beloved estate from being sold in an auction due to financial problems. The play has been dubbed a tragedy by many of its latter producers. However, Chekhov labeled his play a farce, or more of a comedy. Although this play has a very tragic backdrop of Russias casualty-ridden involvement in both World Wars and the Communist RevolutionRead MoreA. Chekhov - the Cherry Orchard Commentary4493 Words   |  18 PagesThe Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov s last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on directing the play as a tragedy. 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