My response to 'The Seagull'

The Seagull wasn’t the easiest play to read due to its foreign names. It was also hard to keep on track of the nicknames that were also given to characters because they sounded nothing like the characters actual names. This meant that I often got confused.

Although, I did understand the love triangle between Konstantin, Nina and Trigorin. And the key message that the book portrayed, being that you are free and powerful until you allow someone else to have the power to destroy you, in which case you can become nothing at all. Chekhov presented this idea with the use of symbolism, being the seagull that Konstantin shot dead for Nina. He did this to represent his love for her and to show that he would die for her. However, Nina disregards his gesture and by doing so forces him to become the seagull (although his attempt to die fails, so he becomes another representation of the seagull that is internally dead due to Nina disregarding his love). Nina and Trigorin don’t last very long and Nina also becomes a version of the seagull (dead on the inside due to Trigorin disregarding her love towards him). 

The language in 'The Seagull' is not modern however is very easy to understand. It is similar to 'The Caucasian Chalk Circle' which I studied last year. The play is very interesting because it has many characters that consist of actors and writers. Chekhov makes these characters powerful and gives them high status' which is very interesting to myself, being an aspiring actress in the modern world. In today's society, the performing arts aren't favoured incredibly and so Chekhov's take on his characters is very different.This contrast shows us how the world has changed through the years.