Chekhov's gun
A narrative principle demanding every element be necessary.
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Chekhov's gun is a narrative principle that holds every element in a story should be necessary and irrelevant ones removed. It is named after Anton Chekhov, who advised young playwrights in several letters that if a gun is introduced, it must later be fired. The term has also come to refer to a plot element introduced early whose significance only becomes clear later, a meaning distinct from Chekhov's original emphasis on narrative conservation.
Quick Facts
- Field
- Narrative principle
- Known for
- Principle that every story element must be necessary; if a gun appears it must be fired
Facts from the source article.
Examples
In many James Bond films, the spy receives gadgets at the start of a mission, such as a concealed wrist-activated dart gun in Moonraker, and each device typically serves a vital role later. The principle dictates that only devices used later may be presented. In Arthur Miller's play A View from the Bridge, Eddie slices an apple with his pocket-knife in Act I and is stabbed to death with the same knife in Act II.
Variations
Ernest J. Simmons notes that Chekhov repeated the same point, which may account for several variations. One version states that a loaded rifle must never be placed on stage if it is not going to go off, as it is wrong to make promises not meant to be kept. Another says that if a rifle is hanging on the wall in the first act, it must go off in the second or third act, otherwise it should not be there.
Did You Know?
- In Chekhov's play The Cherry Orchard, contrary to his own advice, there are two loaded firearms that are not fired, tying into the play's theme of lacking or incomplete action.
- Ernest Hemingway mocked the principle in his essay 'The art of the short story', giving an example of two characters introduced and never mentioned again in his story 'Fifty Grand'.
- Writer Andrea Phillips argued that assigning a single role for every detail makes a story predictable and leaves it 'colorless'.
More in Narrative Techniques & Genres
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Chekhov's gun (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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