Anton Chekhov and Sonata Form

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) is known as one of the most innovative and notable writers of 19th- century Russian literature. I love Chekhov because of the empathy with which he treats all of his characters, especially those who, at first glance, do not seem to merit a lot of attention. Chekhov writes about the most painful aspects of being a human, but with such beauty and attention to detail. Whenever I think about the ending of his short story “Heartache,” I still want to cry, even those it’s been years since I’ve re-read it.

A topic that is less analyzed in Chekhov’s works, but equally significant, is the musicality that is present in so many of them. Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich liked Chekhov’s short story “The Black Monk,” and wanted to compose an opera out of it. Shostakovich remarked that Chekhov had written the story in basic sonata form, giving it a particularly musical quality. This statement has inspired a number of literary scholars to research the formal aspects of the story in great detail, but, unfortunately, the musical analysis of literary scholars tends to lack an understanding of musical form…

So: what does it mean for something to be written in sonata form? The inclusion of a basic exposition, development, and recapitulation is not sufficient to characterize a movement as a “sonata form” movement. There are far more specifics to sonata form than the elementary “sonata-form-esque” skeleton settled for by some literary scholars. Not only does a piece in sonata form contain an exposition, development, and recapitulation, but the exposition contains two contrasting themes, modulates from the home key to the dominant (usually, but sometimes composers modulate to a different key), and has a closing theme in the (usually) dominant. The development usually consists of the fragmentation/variation of the two themes from the exposition, as well as a pedal on the dominant in order to return to the home key in which the exposition began. And the recapitulation also often includes the same components as the exposition, but it ends in the home key.

A piece in sonata form usually goes something like this:
1) Exposition: Primary theme, secondary theme, modulation to the new key, Closing Theme in the new key (a.k.a the “wrong” key)

2) Development: some sort of variation of the two themes, going through new keys, pedal on the dominant in order to return to the home key

3) Recapitulation: Theme I, Theme II, modulation part, but still ends in the home key.

Here is an example of a piece written in sonata form by Johannes Brahms. The exposition is at the beginning of the piece, the Development is around 2:29, and the recapitulation is around 5:04. This movement also includes an extended coda.

How do we apply the above information to Chekhov? Well, look at how I was able to map out the plot of “The Black Monk!”

In Sections 1-5 of the story, the “exposition,” we are first introduced to Andrei (primary theme), a lonely university scholar, and then to his love interest Tanya (Secondary Theme). Old-school music theorists used to describe the primary and secondary themes as “masculine” and “feminine,” and that is quite applicable in this case! Andrei begins having hallucinations about a black monk who convinces him that he is a genius. Since the black monk is a figment of Andrei’s imagination, it can be interpreted as a deviation from Andrei’s character, making it comparable to a musical modulation. In a state of euphoria, Andrei proposes to Tanya and she accepts. When we get to this part, it seems like the story could end. The lovers are engaged, they will live happily ever after, right? Not quite - it turns out that the drama is just beginning. (This is like how the end of an exposition of a sonata sometimes sounds like it could be the end of the movement - only problem, it’s in the wrong key.)

The “development” of the story (Sections 6-8) is when the drama truly begins. While the development section of a sonata is usually comprised of the same motifs from the exposition, these themes are modified, fragmented, or fused together so that they are barely recognizable to the listener. Just like in a sonata-form movement, Andrei and Tanya are still the main themes in the story during the development, but both characters are changed from the way they were originally introduced to readers. Andrei is no longer the nervous scholar, but he is engaged, in love, and slowly selling himself to his madness in the form of the black monk that he envisions. Tanya is no longer the cheerful girl from the exposition, but anxious, and stuck in an unhappy marriage. The height of tension, or the “climax” of the story, can be defined as when Tanya finds her husband conversing to nobody (he was talking to the black monk). Their marriage is collapsing, and readers wait in anticipation to see what will happen to them…(This is like the moment in a sonata movement when the development transitions into the recap.)

Suddenly, it seems as if everything has returned back to normal in Section 9. This is the “recapitulation” of the story. Readers find Andrei in a similar state as in the beginning of the story - single and alone, but this time, also mentally unstable and recently-divorced. He receives a letter from Tanya (re-establishment of the secondary theme), and the black monk makes a final appearance (re-appearance of modulation material.) The appearance of the black monk leads to Andrei’s death, concluding the story, and allowing for it to end in the “home key.”

Have you ever read a short story or novel that seemed to you musical in nature? If so, please let me know!