Chekhov's gun

English

Etymology

The principle was articulated by Russian playwright Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (in Russian: Анто́н Павлович Че́хов Antón Pávlovič Čéxov) and reported in various forms.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /t͡ʃɛ.kʰɔfs ɡʌn/

Proper noun

Chekhov's gun

  1. (literature) A dramatic principle that states that every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed.
  2. An element that is introduced early in the story whose significance to the plot does not become clear until later.
    • 2005, John Miles Foley, A companion to ancient epic‎, →ISBN, page 324:
      The episode of the sun-god's island is the Odyssey's equivalent of Chekhov's gun, announced in the poem's earliest lines as the occasion of the companions' downfall and anticipated ever since.
    • 2007, John Updike, Due considerations: essays and criticism‎, →ISBN, page 336:
      He is Chekhov's gun on the wall, destined to go off at the crucial moment.

Translations

Further reading
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