In this essay, Magarshack explores Chekhov's views on art and the Russian theater of his day, as expressed in his letters and occasional writings.

In the following essay, originally published in 1958, Golubkov inspects Chekhov's social consciousness, which continued to maturate throughout his life, and the lyricism so prevalent in his short fiction.

Kirk provides a detailed examination of each of Chekhov's full-length plays.

In the following essay, Johnson contends that a shift in Chekhov's narrative perspective during the late period of his career added greater depth and complexity to his short stories.

In the following essay, Kane investigates Chekhov's use of language and silence in his plays, arguing: "Aware that speech, like time, is an anthropocentric effort to limit, control, and elucidate the chaos of experience, Chekhov relies on the unspoken to expose and examine the elusive and the enigmatic both within and beyond man. "

In the following excerpt, Egri demonstrates how themes and motifs from Chekhov's short stories are incorporated into "mosaic patterns " in Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard.

In the following essay, Rayfield considers Chekhov's short stories in relation to the latter's Sakhalin journey.

In the following essay, Rayfield surveys the stories Chekhov produced while living on his Melikhovo estate during the 1890s.

In the following essay, originally published in 1957, Poggioli comments upon Chekhov's early stories and their relative importance in anticipating the author's later, more accomplished short fiction.

In the following essay, Hahn investigates creative tension in Chekhov's stories.

In the following excerpt, Hahn describes “The Duel” as “novelistic” in form and method, explores its theme, and compares the work to the fiction of Tolstoy.

In the following essay, Kramer discusses ambiguities in meaning as seen in Chekhov's stories.

In the following essay, Axelrod sees “the need for salvation and moral reform” as central to “The Duel,” and traces biblical references underlying this theme in the work.

In the following essay, Winner discusses Chekhov's transition from light, humorous fiction to the more serious stories of the late 1880s.

In the following essay, Mathewson examines the concept of immortality in Chekhov's stories “The Kiss,” “Gusev,” “Ionyc,” and “The Lady with the Dog.”

In the following essay, Martin discusses Chekhov's use of figurative language, including comparison, simile, and metaphor, and how abstract-to-concrete similes give expression to the author's thematic and philosophic ideas.

The following is an abridged version of an essay that was first published in Russian in 1948. Skaftymov addresses the "question of the unity of form and content" in Chekhov's plays.

In the following essay, Styan looks at the characters, settings, plots, and moods of Chekhov's plays.

In the following essay, Rayfield ponders Chekhov's late 1890s stories depicting love.

In this essay, Timmer traces Chekhov's use of the "bizarre, " defined as "a statement, or a situation, which has no logical place in the context or in the sequence of events, the resulting effect being one of sudden bewilderment. "

In the following essay, Rayfield scrutinizes the peasant tales of Chekhov.

In the following essay, Hahn examines Chekhov's correspondence with the older author Grigorovich, who urged him to pursue a more careful and refined writing style, and the profound effects this advice had upon the young Chekhov.

In the following essay, Kramer scrutinizes the development of the short story by Chekhov and other authors, including the connection between the nineteenth century tale and the twentieth century short story.

In the following essay, originally published in Vestnik Evropy in 1914, Grossman describes the influence of several authors, including Maupassant and Flaubert, upon Chekhov and his use of symbolism.

In the following essay, Brewster and Burrell discuss the various critical opinions of Chekhov, including accusations of immorality, and compare Chekhov's and Katherine Mansfield's use of concrete imagery.

In the following essay, originally published in 1963, Vinogradov remarks upon speech characterization in Chekhov's short stories.

In the following essay, Brewster and Burrell continue their deliberation on Chekhov’s and Mansfield's short fiction.

In this essay, Ehre discusses Chekhov's efforts to "capture common reality" in his plays.

In the essay below, Melchinger investigates the ways Chekhov overthrew the theatrical conventions of his day.

In the following essay, Peace focuses on the "emotional atmosphere" or "mood" Chekhov evokes in his plays.

In this essay, Peace uncovers elements of Greek classical tragedy in The Seagull and Three Sisters.

In the essay below, Senelick surveys works that caricature and satirize Chekhov's dramas.

In the following essay, O'Connor descants the changing face of the short story, particularly with Chekhov.

The following is the text of an address Senelick delivered at a 1994 symposium on Chekhov's reception. Senelick traces shifts in the author's reputation over the years.

In the following essay, originally published in 1970, Pospelov demonstrates how Chekhov used neoteric and original literary devices and principles to transcend traditional literary constructions.

In the following excerpt, Tulloch interprets “The Duel” in light of evolutionary degeneration theory, and views the conflict between an “ambivalence of false choice” and the story's “epic vision of hope and suffering.”

In the following essay, originally published in 1959, Derman dilates upon Chekhov's technique for a story's beginning and ending.

In the following essay, originally published in 1960, Chizhevsky expatiates Chekhov's place in the history of Russian literature.

In the essay below, Esslin assesses the impact of Chekhov's revolutionary dramatic technique on the history of Western theater.

In the following excerpt from a work that was first published in 1950, Hingley examines the essential characteristics of Chekhovian drama.

In the following excerpt from a work that was first published in 1966, Valency places Chekhov in the context of the social and cultural upheavals of his time.

In the following essay, Durkin investigates allusions to the writing of N. S. Laskov in “The Duel,” and examines the opposition between science and the humanities in the story.

In this excerpt, Mudford explores how Chekhov's characters struggle between present despair and hope for the future.

In the excerpt below, Styan views the inducement of ironic detachment in the audience as Chekhov's most important contribution to realist theater. Styan states: "It is this effect of distancing, together with the troubling relevance of his human and social themes and the elusive lyricism of his stage, which has made Chekhov an immeasurably pervasive influence on the form and style of realistic drama in the twentieth century."

In the following, Magarshack examines misinterpretations of Chekhov's plays by theater directors, translators, and others.

In the following excerpt, Lavrin investigates Chekhov's "method of showing the tragic nature of everyday existence in its ordinary everyday conditions. "

In the essay below, Priestley admires the psychological depth of Chekhov's characters, arguing: "It is this depth, where consciousness dissolves into the fathomless unconscious, where new half-realized meanings gleam and then vanish like fish in some deep lake, that constantly renews for us the fascination of [Chekhov's drama. "]

In the following essay, Winner attempts to connect Chekhov's later works, such as “The Black Monk,” with the earlier “searching stories” in terms of their philosophical leanings.

In the following essay Palievsky discusses Chekhov's positive depiction of the common people, maintaining that the writer "formed an invisible link between a high ideal and the perceptions, requirements, tastes and foibles of the ordinary man. "

In the following essay, Winner dilates upon Chekhov's serious stories of the 1890s.

In the following essay, Lynd discusses Chekhov's talent for portraying ordinary people as the basis of a tragic realism.

In the following essay, originally published in 1968, Cicerin refutes the common claim that Chekhov's stories are clear and simple, using as examples the indecisive and conjectural speech found in the stories themselves.

In the following excerpt, Pritchett analyzes “The Duel,” focusing on character and the work's “playlike architecture.”

In the following essay, originally published in 1961, Nazarenko discusses verbal imagery in Chekhov's writing.

In the following excerpt, Baldeshweiler analyzes the so-called “lyrical” short story as represented by the short fiction of Turgenev and Chekhov.

In the following essay, originally published in 1975, Rayfield examines the placement of Chekhov's story “The Student,” between the author's “Steppe” stories of the later 1880s and his more lyrical prose of the 1890s and early 1900s.

In this essay, Rexroth comments on the profound change in the nature of drama brought about by Chekhov.