One century after the death of Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), his plays are celebrated throughout the world as a major milestone in the history of theater and drama. Outside the Russian-speaking community, he is undoubtedly the most widely translated, studied, and performed of all Russian writers. His plays are characterized by their evasiveness: tragedy and comedy, realism and naturalism, symbolism and impressionism, as well as other labels of school and genre, all of which fail to account for the uniqueness of his artistic system and worldview. "A New Poetics of Chekhov's Plays: Presence Through Absence" is a bold attempt to map the unique structure and meaning that comprise Chekhov's immensely rich artistic universe. Harai Golomb explores all the prime components of Chekhov's theatrical technique: text construction, themes and ideas, scenes, dialogue, plot, and interaction between verbal and nonverbal elements. His timeless works are shown with rare insight and clarity to have artistic principles and coherence above and beyond the scope of the individual play.

* Casts new light on how Chekhovs plays can be interpreted and enacted * The author explores all the prime components of Chekhov's theatrical technique: text construction, themes and ideas, scenes, dialogue, plot, and interaction between verbal and nonverbal elements * A rigorous and comprehensive treatment of the many aspects of Chekhov's artistic universe * All the major works explored. One century after the death of Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), his plays are celebrated throughout the world as a major milestone in the history of theatre and drama. Outside the Russian-speaking community, he is undoubtedly the most widely translated, studied and performed of all Russian writers. His plays are characterised by their evasiveness: tragedy and comedy, realism and naturalism, symbolism and impressionism, as well as other labels of school and genre - all fail to account for the uniqueness of 'Chekhovism', i.e., the essence of his artistic system and world view. Presence through Absence is a