Answer two of the following for next week, and be sure to watch Act 1 (two posts down) if you haven't already. It will definitely help you keep all the actors straight and appreciate their relationships.
Q1: Discuss a scene or even a small passage of dialogue where you think the play is most 'comedic.' Remember, Chekhov claims that this play is a comedy, even though many directors and actors are suspicious, and many perform it as a straight tragedy. Is there any moment where we can take him at his word? Is anything genuinely funny? Or is it a different kind of comedy?
Q2: Trigorin, who barely says two words in Act 1, launches into a massive monologue in Act 2. Many believe that Trigorin is a stand-in for Chekhov himself, or at least very close to the way he saw himself. What is the purpose of this monologue, and why is it not only a contradiction to many of Nina's beliefs, but also of Irina and Konstantin's as well?
Q3: At the beginning of Act 2, Irina tells Masha that "Because I work all the time, I live life to the fullest...I don't think about old age, I don't think about dying. Whatever happens happens" (125). Why does this carry a whiff of Manon's outlook and philosophy? Do you think she is the "Manon" of the play? Or is her coolness merely an act?
Q4: Much of the tension of this play is between the upper and lower/middle classes, since some people live here year round, while others only come here to 'party.' Discuss a scene where Chekhov makes this tension apparent, and how might he want us to read this? Whose side does he seem to be on?
No comments:
Post a Comment