“The Swan Song”, is one of Chekhov’s
early plays. It was written in 1887. It is based on ancient beliefs. It was
believed that the swan sings a beautiful song just before it dies. It is about
the last performance of a sixty-eight years old actor, Svietlovidoff, who is
old and lonely. After playing his part, he falls asleep in the dressing room
under the influence of alcohol. When he wakes up he finds that he is lonely in
this world. His friend comes to him. He recalls not only the shattering
experiences of his life but also his past greatness as an actor. In the end
Svietlovidoff bids adieu to the stage by some moving lines from Shakespeare’s
play” Othello”. The empty stage represents the absurdity of life.
Important
Passages with Explanation
1.
Even if I don’t mind ruining my health, I
ought at least to remember my age, old idiot that I am! Yes, my old age! It’s
no use! I can play the fool and brag and pretend to be young, but my life is
really over now, I kiss my hand to the sixty-eight years that have gone by:
I’ll never see them again! I have drained the bottle, only a few little drops
are left at the bottom, nothing but the dregs. Yes, yes, that’s the case,
Vasili, old boy.
Reference to the context:- These
lines have been taken from the play’ The Swan Song’ written by Anton Chekhov.
It is the stone of Svietlovidoff who was once a famous stage actor. When the
play opens, it is night and the audience has gone. But he is in the dressing
room lonely and sad.
Explanation:- In
these lines, Svitelovidoff is alone in the dressing room at night. He is talking
to himself. He has taken a lot of wine and is drunk. He knows that he is
ruining his health by drinking too much. He says that he can boast about
himself and pretend to be young. Then he looks at the bottle which he has
emptied. He has taken a lot of wine in order to forget his sorrow and
loneliness.
2.
I served in the army,
in the artillery, before I fell as low as this, and what a fine young chap I
was! Handsome, daring eager! Where has it all gone? What has become of those
old days? There is a pit that has swallowed them all! I remember it all now,
forty-five years of my life lie buried there, and what a life!
Reference to
the context:- These lines have been taken from the play” The Swan Song”
written by Anton Chekhov. Svietlovidoff is an old stage actor. He has performed
for the stage for forty-five years. Now he is sad, forgotten, and lonely. He
remembers his past glory.
Explanation- In these lines, Svietlovidoff is talking to his friend IvanItch. He says in his youth
he served in the army. He was in the artillery division. But now, as an actor, he has fallen to a very low position in his old age. He says that in his youth
he was a fine boy. But in his old age, his condition is pitiable. Life is like
a pit in which forty-five years of his life are buried. Thus these lines show
the misery of an actor who was once famous, but now he is forgotten.
3.
She was beautiful, graceful as a popular,
young, innocent, pure, and radiant as a summer down. Her smile could charm away
the darkest night. I remember I stood before her once, as I am now standing
before you. She had never seemed lovely to me as she did them, and she spoke to
me so with her eyes- such a look! Enraptured, intoxicated, I fell on my knees
before her I begged for my happiness, and she said:” Give up the stage!” Do you
understand? She could lone an actor, but marry him never!
Reference to
the context:- These lines have been taken from the play” The Swan Song”
written by Anton Chekhov. The main character of this play, Svietlovidoff, is
an old actor. He goes to the dressing room and falls asleep. When he wakes up
in the night, he weeps at his sad& lonely condition. He tells her that when
he was at the peak of his career a woman fell in love with him.
Explanation:- Here
Svietlovidoff remembers the love affair of his youth. He was a famous actor and a woman fell in love with him. She was very beautiful. He says that he will never
forget her. He proposed to her for marriage. But for marriage, she laid the
condition that Svitlovidoff should give up theatre. He says that a woman could
love an actor but could not marry an actor. It was because in those days stage acting
was considered a low profession.
4.
I was acting that day, I remember- I had a
foolish, clown’s part, and as I acted, I felt my eyes being opened, I saw that
the worship of the art I held so sacred was a delusion and an empty dream; that
I was a slave, a fool, the plaything of the idleness of strangers.
Reference to
the context:- These lines have been taken from the play ”The Swan Song”
written by Anton Chekhov. The play deals with the story of an actor named
Svietlovidoff has been in the theatre for more than forty years. This play
presents Svietlovidoff's last performance on the stage. When the play opens, it
is night and the audience has gone.
Explanation:- Here
Svietlovidoff is talking to Nikita. He tells him that he realizes the actual
position of an actor in society. He never thought that the woman would reject
his proposal he says that he was playing a foolish clown’s part on that day.
Her refusal opened his eyes. He realized that his sacredness of art was only a
delusion. His art had done nothing for him. He considered himself a slave and a
fool. This shows that the artists or stage actors are taken nothing more than
the entertainers. They are given no social respect and respect at all.
5.
But I am a man, I am still alive. Warm, red
blood is tingling in my veins, the blood of noble ancestors. I was artillery before I fell as low at this, and what a fine young chap I was!
Reference to
the context:- These lines have been taken from the play” The Swan Song”
written by Anton Chekhov. The play deals with the story of an old actor named
Svietlovidoff. The play presents Svitlovidoff’s last performance on the stage.
Explanation:- In
these lines, Svietlovidoff feels very sad to think that he has no home, family
relatives, and nobody to care for him. Nikita tries to console him. He asks him not
to feel sad. To this Sveitlovidoff says that he too is a human being and still
alive. He has warm blood running in his veins. He says that he is an aristocrat
and has served in the army and was in the artillery regiment. He was a smart
and strong young man before adopting an acting career and then fell low as this.
6.
Do you think I am easier to be played on
than a pipe? Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, you
cannot play upon me! Bravo! Encore! Bravo! Where the devil is there any old age
in that? I am not old, that is all nonsense, a torrent of strength rushes over
me; this is life, freshness youth? Old age and genius can’t exist together.
Reference to
the context:- These lines have been taken from the play, “ The Swan Song”
written by Anton Chekhov Sveitlovidoff is an old actor. He was very famous in
the past. But now he is lonely. At night he sits with his friend Nikita
Ivanitch and shares his past memories& sadness with him.
Explanation-In these lines, Svietlovidoff is talking to his friend Nikita Ivanitch.
Svietlovidoff is sixty years old. He is lonely& sad. Now nobody cares for
him. Sometimes he was very sad at his miserable condition. But then he tells
his friend that he is not completely exhausted. He is not an instrument upon
which anyone can play. Although he is old, he feels a wave of strength coming
over him. He says that old age and genius cannot exist together. He has art and
therefore, old age does not matter.
7.
My audience has gone
home. They are all asleep and have forgotten their old clown. No, nobody needs me, nobody loves me; I have
no wife, no children.
Reference to
the Context: These lines have been taken from Anton Chekhov's play, 'The
Swan Song'. In this play, the playwright brings out the disillusionment of an
actor who finds that while he is loved and applauded as an artist, he is
disregarded as an individual and a human being.
Explanation: After
his swansong ( Last performance) on the stage, Svietlovidoff gets drunk and
falls asleep in the dressing room itself. When he gets up, he finds that
everyone else has left for their homes and he has been left all alone. None has
cared to wake him up and take him home. The audience, who was mad with
enthusiasm at his wonderful performance, did not care a fig for him. They had
all gone home, fallen asleep, and forgotten the old clown who had entertained
them for forty-five years of his life. Now, at last, the old actor realizes that
nobody needs him as a human being, and nobody likes him. He has no wife and no
children also to take care of him. He feels himself all alone like an outcast.
8.
Enraptured, intoxicated, I fell on my knees
before her, I begged for my happiness, and she said: 'Give up the stage!' Give
up the stage! Do you understand? She could love an actor, but marry him -
never!
Reference to
the Context: These lines have been taken from Anton Chekhov's play. 'The
Swan Song'. In this play, the playwright brings out the disillusionment of an
actor who finds that while he is loved and applauded as an artist, he is
disregarded as an individual and a human being.
Explanation: Here,
the old comedian, Svietlovidoff, recalls how a beautiful woman refused to marry
him simply because he would not give up the stage. Sveitlovidoff felt
intoxicated and enraptured when he found that a very beautiful woman among his
audience was madly fond of him. But when he proposed to her for marriage, she
said, “Give up the stage." It gave Svietlovidoff the shock of his life to
see that a woman could love an actor, but never think of marrying him. In other
words, people take actors merely as playthings, not living human beings having
their own feelings and emotions.
9.
I saw that the worship of the art I had held
so sacred was a delusion and an empty dream; that I was a slave, a fool, the
plaything of the idleness of strangers. I understood my audience at last, and
since that day I have not believed in their applause, or in their wreath, or in
their enthusiasm.
Reference to the Context: These
lines have been taken from Anton Chekhov's play, 'The Swan Song'. In this play,
the playwright brings out the disillusionment of an actor who finds that while
he is loved and applauded as an artist, he is disregarded as an individual and
a human being.
Explanation: These
lines have been spoken by the old comedian, Svietlovidoff, to the prompter,
Ivantich,. Svietlovidoff recalls how a beautiful woman refused to marry him
just because he was not ready to give up the stage. But he could never think of
doing such a thing. He says that he was playing a foolish clown's part that
day, but the woman's reaction opened his eyes. He realized all his worship of
art was an empty dream. His art had done nothing but turn him into a slave and
a fool. It had made him a plaything of the idleness of strangers. After that
day, he came to understand his audience. Since that day, he stopped believing
in their applause, wreaths, or their enthusiasm.
10. The people applaud me, they buy my
photograph, but I am a stranger to them. They don't know me, I am as the dirt
beneath their feet. They are willing enough to meet me ....but allow a daughter
or a sister to marry me, an outcast, never!
Reference to
the Context: These lines have been taken from Anton Chekhov's play. 'The
Swan Song'. In this play, the playwright brings out the disillusionment of an
actor who finds that while he is loved and applauded as an artist, he is
disregarded as an individual and a human being.
Explanation: Here,
the old comedian, Svietlovidoff, expresses his disillusionment about his life
as an actor. He finds that people applaud him for his genius in acting. But as
a human being, he is a stranger to them. They know nothing about his feelings
and emotions as an individual. While they applaud him as an actor, they show
complete disregard for him as a human being. They treat him like the dirt beneath
their feet. They are willing to meet him as an actor, but will never allow a
daughter or a sister to marry him. Then they forget all about his genius and
treat him as an inferior human being.
