"The five plays on which Chekhov's worldwide reputation rests defy attempts to determine what they are about. Some productions of Chekhov exude an atmosphere of unrelieved gloom; others turn into a boisterous romp round the samovar. Are they tragedies of loss and dispossession, or lighthearted send-ups of society's misfits? Chekhov does not answer such questions; instead, he involves us in the emotional experience of his characters as they seek for a pattern and meaning in their lives."--
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"The five plays on which Chekhov's worldwide reputation rests defy attempts to determine what they are about. Some productions of Chekhov exude an atmosphere of unrelieved gloom; others turn into a boisterous romp round the samovar. Are they tragedies of loss and dispossession, or lighthearted send-ups of society's misfits? Chekhov does not answer such questions; instead, he involves us in the emotional experience of his characters as they seek for a pattern and meaning in their lives."--
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