Checkhov’s gun

  • Checkov’s gun ia a dramatic principle, first stated by the Russian playwright and short story writer Anton Checkhov (1860-1904)

Checkov’s Principle

  • Checkov’s principle is that every component in a story must be necessary, and any unnecessary components should be removed.
  • To quote Anton Chekhov: “If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off.”

 

Back to Literary Devices

Posted in .