The Cherry Orchard as a Comedy | A Play by Anton Chekhov

In this video, we delve into the comedic elements of Anton Chekhov's play The Cherry Orchard. From witty dialogue to farcical situations, we'll explore how this classic play blends comedy with deeper themes of change and loss. Whether you're a fan of theatre or just looking for a good laugh, you won't want to miss this analysis of The Cherry Orchard as a comedy.

Much difficulty lies in categorizing “The Cherry Orchard” in the list of comedies. Critics could not come to a conclusion in defining its genre. The play has been debated for many years with respect to its style and genre. Neither it could be called a tragedy nor could it be categorized as a comedy but a combination of both. There are equal tears and laughter in the play. At one moment it seems like a comic masterpiece but in the next moment, it becomes tragic. Perhaps, Anton Chekhov blended the ingredients of the two main genres of drama i.e. tragedy and comedy. The play shares the type of “The Winter’s Tale” by William Shakespeare.

Comedy and tragedy are entirely opposite even then they are combined to form a new form of drama; called tragi-comedy. A comedy is written to make the audience laugh. In ancient Greeks and Romans, comedy was a stage play with a happy ending. In light of the definition of comedy, “The Cherry Orchard” is not a comedy as its ending is not happy at all but pessimistic, gloomy and sad. On the other hand, a tragedy is the combination of many of the important ingredients, defined by Aristotle, such as the belonging of the hero from an upper class, his sufferings due to hamartia and the catharsis of piety and fear.

“The Cherry Orchard” does not fit in this category too. Although there is suffering in the play for Mrs Ranevsky and her family yet there is no catharsis of feelings of piety and fear, while watching this play. Mrs Ranevsky does not do anything to save her estate from the auction. Moreover, she does not change her habits and instead of collecting money by cutting cherry trees and building cottages as advised by Lopakhin, prefers the aristocratic lifestyle. She, free-handedly, lends money to Pishchik and spends gold on his aristocratic lifestyle. Hence, the play does not create feelings of piety and fear. The proverb “as you sow so shall you reap” applies in this situation. Mrs Ranevsky does not change with the changing atmosphere of Russia and does not give up her feudal living style, therefore, in return she faces disaster, which is definitely justified in the eyes of readers/spectators.

Anton Chekhov, writer of the play, defined “The Cherry Orchard” as a comic masterpiece. Indeed, lots of dialogues and actions of the characters in the play, define it as a comic masterpiece. For example, Gavyv’s imaginary billiard shots, his solute to an old bookcase, his addiction to candies, the actions of Simon Yepichodov’s alias twenty-to Calamities, the love triangle between Yepichodov, Dunyasha and Yasha, which is merely created for the purpose of comedy, the language of Peter Trofimove, Yasha’s exchange with Dunyasha in an orchard, Yasha’s flirt with Dunyasha etc. all are evidence that this play is a comic masterpiece. Even then, the play is not a pure comedy. The ending of the play is not happy at all. Many of the characters, like Simeonov-Pishchik, are half comic and half tragic.

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