THE TYPICAL VARIETY OF STAGE DIRECTIONS IN THE STRUCTURE OF A. CHEKHOV’S PLAYS (BASED ON THE MATERIAL OF “THE SEA-GULL”, “THE CHERRY ORCHARD” AND THEIR ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS)

Abstract

The article delves into the intricate task of rendering stage directions from Russian into English. To this day, it is undeniable that stage directions are an indispensable structural component of a dramatic work. Stage directions serve as concise and informative passages, providing crucial details about the setting, as well as the distinctive attributes and physical appearance of the characters. The research material comprises the plays by A. Chekhov “The Sea-Gull”, “The Cherry Orchard”, along with their English-language translation versions, rendered by C. Garnett. The analysis reveals a diverse range of stage directions within Chekhov’s plays and their translation versions. These include introductory, inserted, interrupting, and concluding stage directions. Moreover, a quantitative assessment and a comparative analysis of these stage directions is conducted in the source texts and their translation versions. The author concludes that there exists a significant discrepancy in the frequency of inserted and interrupting stage directions in the analyzed texts, which may significantly influence the interpretation of dramatic works.