Chekhov's gun

Chekhov's gun (Chekhov's rifle; russian: Чеховское ружьё) is a narrative principle that states that every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed. Alternatively explained, suppose a writer features a gun in a story; if the writer features it, there ''must'' be a reason for it, such as it being fired sometime later in the plot. All elements must eventually come into play at some point in the story.

Background

The principle is recorded in letters by Anton Chekhov several times, with some variation; it was advice for young playwrights.

Ernest Hemingway mocked the principle in his essay "The art of the short story", giving the example of two characters that are introduced and then never mentioned again in his short story " Fifty Grand". Hemingway valued inconsequential details, but conceded that readers will inevitably seek symbolism and significance in them. Writer Andrea Phillips noted that assigning a single role for every detail makes a story predictable and leaves it "colorless".

Writing in 1999, Donald Rayfield noted that in Chekhov's play ''The Cherry Orchard'', contrary to Chekhov's own advice, there are two loaded firearms that are not fired. The unfired rifles tie into the play's theme of lacking or incomplete action.

Variations

E.J. Simmons writes that Chekhov repeated the same point, which may account for there being several variations.

* "One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn't going to go off. It's wrong to make promises you don't mean to keep."

* "Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first act that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third act it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there." — Sergius Shchukin (1911) ''Memoirs''.
* "If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there."

Examples

The principle is carried out somewhat literally in many of the ''James Bond'' films, in which the spy is presented with new gadgets at the beginning of a mission – such as a concealed, wrist-activated dart gun – and typically each device serves a vital role in the story.

See also

* Concision – the principle of brevity in writing
* Foreshadowing – a plot device where what is to come is hinted at, to arouse interest or to guard against disappointment
* MacGuffin – a plot motivator that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself
* Occam's razor – the idea that explanatory mechanisms should not be posited without being necessary.
* Red herring – drawing attention to a certain element to mislead
* Shaggy dog story – a long-winded anecdote designed to lure the audience into a false sense of expectation, only to disappoint them with an anticlimactic ending or punchline.

References

{{Narrative

Narrative techniques
Gun
Metaphors referring to war and violence
Plot (narrative)
19th-century introductions
Gun violence in fiction