26984 words

chekhov

2 definitions • 4 examples
1
the literary principle that a writer should not include an object, detail, character, etc. in a story that is not necessary to the story:

Examples:

The playwright Anton Chekhov observed that if there is a pistol hanging on the wall in the first act, it must go off before the end of the play, an observation which has become known as "Chekhov's gun".
Some writers have said that Chekhov's gun makes stories predictable and boring.
2
an object, detail, character, etc. that appears near the beginning of a story and does not seem important, but becomes important later:

Examples:

When you see him playing with a knife you can bet that, like Chekhov's gun, it will appear again before the end of the film.
JK Rowling uses Chekhov's guns throughout Harry Potter, such as Harry's flying power, Ron's chess skills, or Riddle's diary.

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