Chekhov's Major Plays

This book includes translations of Chekhov's five major plays, Ivanov, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, The Three Sisters, (translated by Karl Kramer) and The Cherry Orchard (translated by Karl Kramer and Margaret Booker). The translations strive for accuracy and performability on the stage. The introduction treats two idiosyncratic features of Chekhov's text: the ways he employs the stage direction, "through tears," and his extensive use of ellipses for a variety of purposes. The notes and commentary seek to elucidate various references whose meaning may not be readily apparent to an English-speaking reader today. The explanatory and interpretative materials also provide a wealth of information on variants of specific lines; they give information on a number of issues where the early productions of the plays, under Konstantin Stanislavsky's direction, underwent rather perverse interpretation of Chekhov's material. Finally, the notes offer insights into particular implications of various lines in the plays.