Chekhov's gun
English edit
Etymology edit
Calque of Russian Чеховское ружьё (Čexovskoje ružʹjó). The principle was articulated by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov and reported in various forms.
Pronunciation edit
Proper noun edit
- (literature) A dramatic principle that states that every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed.
- 2015 March 19, Alessandra Stanley, “'Empire' Finale Review: A Sizzling End to Season One”, in New York Times[1]:
- It seems like a violation of Chekhov’s gun rule to put Naomi Campbell in the first act and not have her throw a phone at someone in the third. (She tore up a check instead.)
- 2023 May 1, Daniel Engber, “No One in Movies Knows How to Swallow a Pill”, in The Atlantic[2]:
- An on-screen pill bottle works like Chekhov’s gun: Eventually, its contents will be fired at an actor’s mouth, or smashed between his lips, or hurled into his gullet.
- An element that is introduced early in the story whose significance to the plot does not become clear until later.
Translations edit
dramatic principle
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element
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Further reading edit
- Chekhov's gun on Wikipedia.Wikipedia