Chekhov's gun

Chekhov's gun (or Chekhov's rifle; Russian: Чеховское ружьё) is a narrative principle emphasizing that every element in a story be necessary, while irrelevant elements should be removed. For example, if a gun features in a story, there must be a reason for it, such as being fired at some later point. The principle that all elements must eventually come into play over the course of the story is recorded, with some variation, in several letters by Anton Chekhov, as advice for young playwrights.^[1][2][3][4]

A rifle on display

In recent years, the term has also taken on the meaning of a plot element that is introduced early in a story, whose significance to the plot does not become clear until later.^[5][6] This plot twist meaning is separate from Chekhov's original intent of narrative conservation and necessity.

Examples

The principle is carried out 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 in Moonraker^[7] – and typically each device serves a vital role in the story.^[8] The principle dictates that only the devices utilized later in the story may be presented.

Variations

Ernest J. Simmons, (1903–1972)^[9] writes that Chekhov repeated the same point, which may account for there being several variations.^[10]

• "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."^[11][12][13]
  (Here the "gun" refers to a monologue that Chekhov deemed superfluous and unrelated to the rest of the play.)
• "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.^[14][3]
• "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."^[15]

Criticism

Ernest Hemingway mocked the principle in his essay "The art of the short story",^[16] 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.^[17] Writer Andrea Phillips noted that assigning a single role for every detail makes a story predictable and leaves it "colorless".^[18]

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.^[19][20]

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.
• Deus ex machina – a plot element introduced unexpectedly to resolve an otherwise unsolvable situation