(347 words) The genre of a literary work plays a huge role in the creation of a poem, tragedy or novel. Features of the genre affect the plot and construction of the text, as well as the behavior of the characters and the outcome of events. That is why it is important to clearly understand which variety the work belongs to. Nevertheless, fiction knows such cases when it is difficult for the reader to draw a conclusion about which genre the poet or writer nevertheless chose. One such example is the play by the Russian playwright A.P. Chekhov "The Cherry Orchard".

Anton Pavlovich himself called The Cherry Orchard a comedy. But is it worth approaching this issue so categorically? Of course, it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to the question of what genre this work belongs to, since it combines the features of farce, lyrical comedy, and tragedy.

Despite doubts, it is worth trusting the author of the play, since A.P. Chekhov portrays the characters in a comic way. Suffice it to recall the tricks of Charlotte Ivanovna, the conversations between Gaev and his sister Ranevskaya with the furniture and rooms of their father's house, as well as "twenty-two misfortunes" or the awkward Epikhodov. In this regard, the image of Petya Trofimov is also considered remarkable: the young man fancies himself almost a philosopher, he dares to express ideas of human relationships that are shocking for the older generation (“We are above love!”). At the same time, Trofimov remains an “eternal student”, who is not even subject to caring for his own galoshes.

It is important to note that most of the characters in the work contradict themselves. For example, saddened by the sale of the house, Gaev, having heard the usual knock of billiard balls, instantly perked up and forgot about all the troubles around. Such behavior of the characters suggests the tragicomic nature of the play. On the one hand, they are really overshadowed by the forthcoming cutting down of the cherry orchard, but on the other hand… their bitterness and regret about the loss of their beloved and native home is so fleeting. That is why it is difficult for the reader to decide whether to laugh or cry over the book. The image of Firs is also ambiguous. This hero personifies the image of the obsolete Russian Empire. It would seem that he should be pitied, because the gentlemen, despite his devotion, completely forgot about him. But Chekhov understood that the country needed changes in any case, which means that he did not have a clear goal to make us cry because of the death of Firs.

Thus, the play by A.P. Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" can be recognized as a tragicomedy or a comedy, as the author himself believed.

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"The Cherry Orchard" - drama or comedy? BUT. P. Chekhov called The Cherry Orchard a comedy. But the play has everything: tragedy, farce, and lyrical comedy. How to determine the genre of such a complex play? How to explain why I. S. Turgenev calls such sad plays as "The Freeloader", "A Month in the Country" comedies? Why did A. N. Ostrovsky classify such works as "The Forest", "The Last Victim", "Guilty Without Guilt" as a comedy genre?

The Cherry Orchard is a 20th century play. Pushkin's understanding of high comedy, which, according to him, comes close to tragedy, can now be conveyed using another term: tragicomedy. In tragicomedy, the playwright reflects the same phenomena of life in both comic and tragic coverage. At the same time, the tragic and the comic, interacting, reinforce each other, and an organic unity is obtained, which can no longer be divided into its component parts.

So, The Cherry Orchard is most likely a tragicomedy. Recall the third act: on the very day when the estate is sold at auction, a holiday is arranged in the house. Let's read the author's note. The conductor of ballroom dancing turns out to be ... Simeonov-Pishchik. It is unlikely that he changed into a tailcoat. So, as always, in a coat and harem pants, fat, out of breath, he shouts out the necessary ballroom commands, and he does it in French, which he does not know. And then Chekhov mentions Varya, who “weeps quietly and, dancing, wipes her tears!” The situation is tragicomic: dancing, crying. It's not just Var. Lyubov Andreevna, singing a lezginka, anxiously asks about her brother. Anya, who had just excitedly conveyed to her mother the rumor that the cherry orchard had already been sold, immediately goes to dance with Trofimov.

All this cannot be put on the shelves: here it is comic, and there it is tragic. This is how a new genre arises, which allows you to simultaneously convey pity for the characters of the play, and anger, and sympathy for them, and their condemnation - all that followed from the ideological and artistic intention of the author.

Chekhov's judgment is interesting: “No plots are needed. There are no plots in life, everything is mixed in it - deep with small, great with insignificant, tragic with funny. Obviously, Chekhov had reasons for not making a sharp distinction between the funny and the dramatic.

He did not recognize the division of genres into high and low, serious and funny. There is no such thing in life, nor should there be in Art. In the memoirs of T. L. Shchepkina-Kupernik there is such a conversation with Chekhov:

“- I wish I could write such a vaudeville: two people wait out the rain in an empty barn, joke, laugh, declare their love - then the rain passes, the sun - and suddenly he dies of a broken heart!

God with you! I wondered. - What kind of vaudeville will it be?

But it's vital. Doesn't that happen? Here we are joking, laughing - and suddenly - bang! End!"

I think that the genre of tragicomedy fully reflects the diversity of life, the mixture of joyful and mournful, farcical and sad in it.

A.P. Chekhov wrote in 1903 a wonderful play "The Cherry Orchard". The world of art, as well as the socio-political world, felt the need for renewal. A.P. Chekhov, already a gifted writer who showed his skill in short stories, enters dramaturgy as a discoverer of new ideas. The premiere of the play "The Cherry Orchard" gave rise to a mass of discussions among critics and spectators, among actors and directors about the genre features of the play. Consider what constitutes "The Cherry Orchard" in terms of genre - drama, tragedy or comedy.

While working on the play, A.P. Chekhov spoke in letters about her character as a whole: “I did not come out with a drama, but a comedy, in some places even a farce ...” In letters to Vl. A. P. Chekhov warned I. Nemirovich-Danchenko that Anya should not have a “crying” tone, that in general there should not be “a lot of crying” in the play. The production, despite the resounding success, did not satisfy A.P. Chekhov. Anton Pavlovich expressed dissatisfaction with the general interpretation of the play: “Why is my play so stubbornly called a drama on posters and in newspaper advertisements? Nemirovich and Alekseev (Stanislavsky) see positively in my play not what I wrote, and I am ready to give any word neither of them once read my play attentively. Thus, the author himself insists that The Cherry Orchard is a comedy. This genre did not at all exclude the serious and sad in A.P. Chekhov. Stanislavsky, obviously, violated Chekhov's measure in the ratio of the dramatic to the comic, the sad to the funny. The result was a drama where A.P. Chekhov insisted on a lyrical comedy.

One of the features of "The Cherry Orchard" is that all the characters are presented in a dual, tragicomic light. There are purely comic characters in the play: Charlotte Ivanovna, Epikhodov, Yasha, Firs. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov makes fun of Gaev, who "lived his fortune on candy", over the sentimental Ranevskaya, who is beyond her age, and her practical helplessness. Even over Petya Trofimov, who, it would seem, symbolizes the renewal of Russia, A.P. Chekhov is ironic, calling him "an eternal student." This attitude of the author Petya Trofimov deserved his verbosity, which A.P. Chekhov did not tolerate. Petya utters monologues about workers who "eat disgustingly, sleep without pillows", about the rich who "live in debt, at someone else's expense", about a "proud man". At the same time, he warns everyone that he is "afraid of serious conversations." Petya Trofimov, doing nothing for five months, keeps telling others that "we have to work." And this is with the hardworking Varya and the businesslike Lopakhin! Trofimov does not study, because he cannot study and support himself at the same time. Petya Ranevskaya gives a very sharp, but accurate description of Trofimov's "spirituality" and "tact": "... You don't have cleanliness, but you're just a clean-cut one." A.P. Chekhov speaks with irony about his behavior in remarks. Trofimov now cries out "with horror," then, choking with indignation, cannot utter a word, then threatens to leave and cannot do it in any way.

A.P. Chekhov has certain sympathetic notes in the image of Lopakhin. He does everything possible to help Ranevskaya keep the estate. Lopakhin is sensitive and kind. But in double coverage, he is far from ideal: there is a business lack of wings in him, Lopakhin is not able to get carried away and love. In relations with Varya, he is comical and awkward. The short-term celebration associated with the purchase of a cherry orchard is quickly replaced by a feeling of despondency and sadness. Lopakhin utters with tears a significant phrase: "Oh, if only all this would pass, if only our awkward, unhappy life would somehow change." Here Lopakhin directly touches the main source of drama: he lies not in the struggle for the cherry orchard, but in dissatisfaction with life, experienced differently by all the heroes of the play. Life goes on absurdly and awkwardly, bringing neither joy nor happiness to anyone. This life is unhappy not only for the main characters, but also for Charlotte, lonely and useless, and for Epikhodov with his constant failures.

Defining the essence of the comic conflict, literary critics argue that it rests on the discrepancy between appearance and essence (comedy of positions, comedy of characters, etc.). In the "new comedy of A.P. Chekhov, the words, actions and actions of the characters are precisely in such a discrepancy. The internal drama of each turns out to be more important than external events (the so-called "undercurrents"). Hence the "tearfulness" of the characters, which does not have a tragic connotation Monologues and remarks "through tears" most likely speak of excessive sentimentality, nervousness, sometimes even irritability of the characters. Hence the all-pervading Chekhovian irony. It seems that the author, as it were, asks questions to both viewers, readers, and himself: why is this do people waste their lives ineptly? why are they so careless about their loved ones? why are they so irresponsibly wasting words and vitality, naively believing that they will live forever and there will be an opportunity to live life white, anew? The heroes of the play deserve both pity and merciless "laughter through the invisible tears to the world."

In Soviet literary criticism, it was traditionally customary to "group" the heroes of the play, referring to the representatives of the "past" of Russia as Gaev and Ranevskaya, her "present" - Lopakhin, and the "future" - Petya and Anya. I think it's not quite right. According to one of the theatrical versions of the play "The Cherry Orchard", the future of Russia turns out to be for people like the lackey Yasha, who looks to where the power and finances are. In my opinion, A.P. Chekhov cannot do without sarcasm here either, since he does not see the place where, after a little more than ten years, the Lopakhins, Gaevs, Ranevskys and Trofimovs will find themselves, when such Yakovs will judge them? A.P. Chekhov, with bitterness and regret, is looking for the Man in his play and, it seems to me, does not find him.

Undoubtedly, the play "The Cherry Orchard" is characterized by complexity and ambiguity. That is why even today the interest of directors from many countries of the world is riveted to it, "The Cherry Orchard" does not leave the theater stage. Disputes about the genre of the work do not subside. However, do not forget that A.P. Chekhov himself called his creation a comedy.

High comedy is not based
The only laugh. and often
Close to tragedy.
A. S. Pushkin
Why did A.P. Chekhov call The Cherry Orchard a comedy? It is very difficult to answer this question. In the 19th century, there is a certain mixture of genres, their interaction. There are such plays as tragic comedy, drama-comedy, drama-tragicomedy, lyrical comedy, comic drama.
The difficulty lies in the fact that the play "The Cherry Orchard" has everything: tragedy, farce, and lyrical comedy. How to determine the genre of such a complex play?

/> AP Chekhov was not alone in this respect. How to explain why I. S. Turgenev calls comedies such sad plays as “The Freeloader”, “A Month in the Country”? Why did A. N. Ostrovsky classify such works as “The Forest”, “The Last Victim”, “Guilty Without Guilt” as a comedy genre?
Probably, this is connected with the then still alive traditions of serious, high comedy, as A. S. Pushkin called it.
In Russian literature, starting with A. S. Griboyedov, a special genre form has been developing, which is called just that: high comedy. In this genre, the universal ideal usually comes into conflict with some comically illuminated phenomenon. We see something similar in Chekhov's play: the collision of a lofty ideal, embodied in the symbolic image of a cherry orchard, with the world of people who are unable to preserve it.
But The Cherry Orchard is a 20th-century play. Pushkin's understanding of high comedy, which, according to him, comes close to tragedy, can now be conveyed using another term: tragicomedy.
In tragicomedy, the playwright reflects the same phenomena of life in both comic and tragic coverage. At the same time, the tragic and the comic, interacting, reinforce each other, and an organic unity is obtained, which can no longer be divided into its component parts.
So, "The Cherry Orchard" is most likely a tragicomedy. Recall the third act: on the very day when the estate is sold at auction, a holiday is arranged in the house. Let's read the author's note. The conductor of ballroom dancing turns out to be. Simeonov-Pishchik. It is unlikely that he changed into a tailcoat. So, as always, in a coat and harem pants, fat, out of breath, he shouts out the necessary ballroom commands, and he does it in French, which he does not know. And then Chekhov mentions Varya, who “weeps quietly and, dancing, wipes her tears!” The situation is tragicomic: dancing, crying. It's not just Var. Lyubov Andreevna, singing a lezginka, anxiously asks about her brother. Anya, who had just excitedly conveyed to her mother the rumor that the cherry orchard had already been sold, immediately goes to dance with Trofimov.
All this cannot be put on the shelves: here it is comic, and there it is tragic. This is how a new genre arises, which allows simultaneously conveying pity for the characters of the play, and anger, and sympathy for them, and their condemnation - all that followed from the ideological and artistic intention of the author.
Chekhov's judgment is interesting: “No plots are needed. There are no plots in life, everything is mixed in it - deep with small, great with insignificant, tragic with funny. Obviously, Chekhov had reasons for not making a sharp distinction between the funny and the dramatic.
He did not recognize the division of genres into high and low, serious and funny. This is not the case in life, nor should it be in art. In the memoirs of T. L. Shchepkina-Kupernik there is such a conversation with Chekhov:

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The problem of defining the genre of the play "The Cherry Orchard" is still relevant to this day. It is called tragicomedy and lyrical comedy. A.P. Chekhov himself interpreted his work unambiguously as a comedy.

At the first production of the play, Chekhov was dissatisfied, despite the success with the audience. He considered that the actors and directors did not fully understand the characters and presented the play as a tragedy. Chekhov said that his play was read inattentively and misunderstood.

At first glance, it seems that the characters are unhappy and dissatisfied, tormented by feelings. But in fact, all their troubles are the result of weak-willed and weak characters, unwillingness to let go of the past and live in the present. They do not want to listen to reasonable advice, preferring to revel in the glorious past.

Chekhov believed that the only tragic moment in the play was Ranevskaya's mourning for her dead son.

Some characters are funny and absurd - this is the governess Charlotte Ivanovna, Epikhodov, footman Yasha and Dunyasha. Trofimov and Anya are naive young people who indulge in empty dreams. Trofimov likes to talk smartly and for a long time, but is inactive. He is ironically referred to as the "eternal student". Lyubov Andreevna is not able to think clearly and face the truth. Her brother Gaev is presented as a frivolous man, who is mocked by the servants.

I think the only person who deserves participation is Lopakhin. The Cherry Orchard for him is not only beautiful fruit-bearing trees, but also a place where his ancestors suffered torment. He rose from the common peasants, but did not become conceited and admits that he is "a peasant by a peasant." Lopakhin is a representative of the present, he understands that you need to look ahead, not dwelling on the past. But still, unfortunately, Chekhov does not find in the play a single person who would not be an inhabitant, who would be capable of deep reflection and great deeds. And therefore, he believes, The Cherry Orchard cannot be a tragedy, where readers and viewers sympathize with the characters.

Chekhov believes that the heroes of the work are not capable of deep feelings and empathy for their neighbor. They are superficial, mundane, wasting time, and indeed a lifetime.

The heroes of the play deserve pity somewhere, and ridicule somewhere. The play "The Cherry Orchard" is ambiguous. But the author himself confidently attributed his work to the comedy genre.