100 Anton Chekhov Quotes From The Pioneering Playwright Of 'The Seagull'
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Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born on 29 January 1860 in Taganrog, Russia.
Chekhov was considered one of the greatest short fiction writers and a master of the short story. He was a literary creative who probed below the surface of life.
Let's look at 100 Anton Chekhov quotes from the pioneering playwright of 'The Seagull'. If you like these, you should look at these Kafka quotes and Charlotte Brontë quotes too.
Anton Chekhov Quotes From 'The Seagull'
Here are some of the best Anton Chekhov quotes from 'The Seagull'. Chekhov was known as the master of the short story, and 'The Seagull' itself is a collection of short stories.
1. “In all the universe nothing remains permanent and unchanged but the spirit.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
2. “We should show life neither as it is, nor as it should be, but as we see it in our dreams.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
3. “Wine and tobacco destroy the individuality."
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
4. “Why do I hear a note of sadness that wrings my heart in this cry of a pure soul?"
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
5. “I feel as if I had been in the world a thousand years, and I trail my life behind me like an endless scarf.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
6. “I understand that in our work - doesn't matter whether it's acting or writing ."
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
7. “The fear of death is an animal passion which must be overcome."
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
8. “How easy it is, Doctor, to be a philosopher on paper, and how difficult in real life!”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
9. “Living characters! Life must be represented not as it is, but as it ought to be; as it appears in dreams.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
10. “What's important isn't fame or glamour, none of the things I used to dream about, it's the ability to endure.”
- Anton Chekhov.
Anton Chekhov Quotes About Love
These beautiful Anton Chekhov quotes on love from 'The Seagull', 'The Three Sisters', and more will make you love deeper.
11. “Perhaps the feelings that we experience when we are in love represent a normal state."
- Anton Chekhov.
12. "Your ego breaks in two: you begin to think of yourself in the third person.”
- Anton Chekhov.
13. "They aren't aware that writing a good play is difficult and writing a bad one is twice as hard.”
- Anton Chekhov.
14. "After a cigar or a glass of vodka you are no longer Peter Sorin, but Peter Sorin plus somebody else."
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
15. "Nothing better forges a bond of love, friendship or respect than common hatred toward something."
- Anton Chekhov.
16. “Being in love shows a person who he should be.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
17. “Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
18. “Perhaps man has a hundred senses."
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Cherry Orchard'.
19. “Any idiot can face a crisis; it's this day-to-day living that wears you out.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
20. “The role of the artist is to ask questions, not answer them.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
21. “The world is, of course, nothing but our conception of it.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
22. “When asked, 'Why do you always wear black?', he said, 'I am mourning for my life.'”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
23. “We shall find peace. We shall hear angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
24. “If ever my life can be of any use to you, come and claim it.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
25. “To fear love is to fear life, and those whose fear life are already three parts dead...”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
26. “Do you see that tree? It is dead but it still sways in the wind with the others."
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Three Sisters'.
Anton Chekhov Quotes From Plays
Here are some quotes from the Russian Anton Chekhov's plays, including Anton Chekhov quotes about Russia. Chekhov wrote many plays, including the famous 'The Three Sisters', and of course 'The Seagull'. Each quote tells a human short story every day.
27. “He dies only the five senses that we know perish with him, and the other ninety-five remain alive.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
28. “Any idiot can face a crisis; it's this day-to-day living that wears you out.”
- Anton Chekhov.
29. “What a fine weather today!"
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
30. “The world is, of course, nothing but our conception of it.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
31. “Wisdom... comes not from age, but from education and learning.”
- Anton Chekhov.
32. “Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my mistress."
- Anton Chekhov.
33. "We shall find peace."
- Anton Chekhov.
34. “If ever my life can be of any use to you, come and claim it.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
35. “The happy man only feels at ease because the unhappy bear their burden in silence."
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
36. "We shall hear angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds."
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
Anton Chekhov Quotes On Acting And Living
These Anton Chekhov quotes are about the act of living.
37. “To judge between good or bad, between successful and unsuccessful would take the eye of a God.”
- Anton Chekhov.
38. “When you're thirsty and it seems that you could drink the entire ocean that's faith."
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
39. “When I get fed up with one, I spend the night with the other.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
40. “If there is a gun hanging on the wall in the first act, it must fire in the last.”
- Anton Chekhov.
41. “The critics suppose that it is easy to write a play."
- Anton Chekhov.
42. “Sometimes we go to a play and after the curtain has been up five minutes we have a sense of being able to settle back in the arms of the playwright."
- Anton Chekhov.
43. “I will begin with what in my opinion is your lack of restraint."
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
44. “ If I died I would still be part of life in one way or another.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
45. “I swear fearfully at the conventions of the stage.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
Anton Chekhov Quotes About Art
Here are some quotes about art and the artist.
46. “He who desires nothing, hopes for nothing, and is afraid of nothing, cannot be an artist.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
47. “An artist's flair is sometimes worth a scientist's brains.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
48. “The secret of boring people lies in telling them everything.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
49. “An artist must pass judgment only on what he understands; his range is limited as that of any other specialist.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
50. “Anyone who says that the artist's field is all answers and no questions has neither.”
- Anton Chekhov.
51. “If I had listened to the critics I'd have died drunk in the gutter.”
- Anton Chekhov.
52. “I am not a liberal, not a conservative, not a believer in gradual progress, not a monk. I should like to be a free artist and nothing more.”
- Anton Chekhov.
53. “You confuse two things: solving a problem and stating a problem correctly."
- Anton Chekhov.
54. “The wealthy are always surrounded by hangers-on; science and art are as well.”
- Anton Chekhov.
55. “If you want to work on your art, work on your life.”
- Anton Chekhov.
Anton Chekhov Quotes About Change
Here are a few quotes about changes from the playwright of 'The Seagull' and 'The Three Sisters'.
56. “Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.”
- Anton Chekhov.
57. “People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
58. “ It is only the second that is obligatory for an artist.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
59. “Instinctively we know that the playwright knows his business.”
- Anton Chekhov.
60. “I promise to be an excellent husband, but give me a wife who, like the moon, will not appear every day in my sky.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
61. “No psychologist should pretend to understand what he does not understand."
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
62. “The world perishes not from bandits and fires, but from hatred, hostility, and all these petty squabbles.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
63. “People who lead a lonely existence always have something on their minds that they are eager to talk about.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
64. “If you cry 'forward', you must without fail make plain in what direction to go.”
- Anton Chekhov.
65. “Faith is an aptitude of the spirit. It is, in fact, a talent: you must be born with it.”
- Anton Chekhov.
Anton Chekhov Quotes About Laughter
Here are Anton Chekhov quotes about language and laughter.
66. “In all the universe nothing remains permanent and unchanged but the spirit.”
- Anton Chekhov.
67. “One usually dislikes a play while writing it, but afterward it grows on one."
- Anton Chekhov.
68. “But I love my stone. I can’t live without it.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
69. “Let others judge and make decisions.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
70. “The snow has not yet left the earth, but spring is already asking to enter your heart.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
71. “There'll be a scandal, the tongues of the whole district will buzz with gossip."
- Anton Chekhov.
72. “All I wanted was to say honestly to people: 'Have a look at yourselves and see how bad and dreary your lives are!'"
- Anton Chekhov.
73. “Man has been endowed with reason, with the power to create, so that he can add to what he's been given.”
- Anton Chekhov.
74. “You must know why you're writing.”
- Anton Chekhov.
75. “Try to be original in your play and as clever as possible, but don't be afraid to show yourself foolish.”
- Anton Chekhov.
Anton Chekhov Quotes On Writing
Here are some Chekhov quotes about improving yourself.
76. “But it's better to go through a scandal, isn't it, than to destroy yourself for your whole life.”
- Anton Chekhov.
77. “In me the consciousness of human beings has merged with the instincts of animals.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
78. “All do I remember, and every life I live again in my own self.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
79. “In anything you write there must be a clear and definite thought."
- Anton Chekhov.
80. “If you go down the picturesque path that has no definite goal at the end of it, then you'll lose your way and your talent will destroy you.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
81. “How curious to see a famous actress crying, especially over such a tiny thing!”
- Anton Chekhov.
82. “I had the dishonour to kill this seagull today. I'm laying it at your feet.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
83. “A girl like you, living beside a lake since she was a child."
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
84. “But one day by chance a man comes along and sees her. And quite idly he destroys her, like this seagull.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
The Best Anton Chekhov Quotes
Discover the best Anton Chekhov quotes.
85. “If at any time you should have need of my life, come and take it.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
86. “Only those who believe in a future life and tremble for sins committed can logically fear death.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
87. “If love is often cruel or destructive, the reasons lie not in love itself, but in the inequality between people.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
88. “When you start to drink and finish only a glass or two that's science.”
- Anton Chekhov.
89. “She loves the lake the way a seagull might - she's happy and free as a seagull.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
90. “Only fools and charlatans know everything and understand nothing.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
Anton Chekhov Quotes About Life
Here are some Anton Chekhov quotes about life being boring and more.
91. “All saints have past and all sinners have a future.”
- Anton Chekhov.
92. “You must trust and believe in people or life becomes impossible.”
- Anton Chekhov.
93. “I’ve never been in love. I’ve dream't of it day and night."
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
94. “Then I feel so happy and at the same time so sad, it’s unimaginable.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
95. “But my heart is like a fine piano no one can play because the key is lost.”
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
96. “My love is like a stone tied round my neck; it’s dragging me down to the bottom."
- Anton Chekhov, 'The Seagull'.
97. “Man will become better when you show him what he is like.”
- Anton Chekhov.
98. “There are plenty of good people, but only a very, very few are precise and disciplined.”
- Anton Chekhov.
99. “Life is given only once, and one wants to live it boldly, with full conscious and beauty.”
- Anton Chekhov.
100. “When a woman isn’t beautiful, people always say, ‘You have lovely eyes, you have lovely hair.”
- Anton Chekhov.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 100 Anton Chekhov quotes from 'The Seagull' and more then why not take a look at these Emily Brontë quotes and classic literature quotes?
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Divya RaghavBachelor of Commerce specializing in Accounting and Finance, Master of Business Administration
With a diverse range of experience in finance, administration, and operations, Divya is a diligent worker known for her attention to detail. Born and raised in Bangalore, she completed her Bachelor's in Commerce from Christ University and is now pursuing an MBA at Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Bangalore. Along with her professional pursuits, Divya has a passion for baking, dancing, and writing content. She is also an avid animal lover who dedicates her time to volunteering for animal welfare causes.
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