The theatrical space in Chekhov's plays «The Swan Song (KALHAS)» and «The Seagull»

Dolzhenkov P. N., Huimin Piao

The article explores the stage space in Chekhov's plays «The Swan Song (Kalhas)» and «The Seagull». In his dramatic sketch the writer partially violates the principle of "the fourth wall", which prevailed in the theatre of that time. The similarities between «The Swan Song» and «The Seagull» are revealed. Chekhov creates his drama study in accordance with the "principle of uncertainty": we cannot tell what the work is about: whether it's about the tragedy of an actor who has destroyed his big talent or the tragicomedy of an operetta actor who imagines himself to be a major dramatic actor. Turning to the comedy The Seagull, we first analyse the image of Home in the writer's plays and conclude that we can speak of a certain "homelessness" of Chekhov's characters. In our view, the 'homelessness' of the writer's characters is evidence of their poor embeddedness in life, in which they are more guests than masters.

Keywords:Russian literature of the 19th century, Chekhov's work, drama, The Swan Song, The Seagull, stage space.