Literary Devices in The Lady with the Dog
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
In Section III, Gurov sees a playbill for the Sydney Jones opera The Geisha and attends the opening performance, hoping that Anna will be there. She is, and the opera serves as a backdrop to the em...
Setting
The dual setting of "Lady with the Dog" is very important to the story. When Gurov and Anna leave Yalta, it signals a shift in atmosphere and mood. To start, think about Yalta and the way it is tre...
Narrator Point of View
While the story does focus largely on Gurov, his perspective, his thoughts, and his story, the narrative voice of "Lady with the Dog" is allowed total omniscience. Check out the story's final scene...
Genre
"The Lady with the Dog" is the realistic story of two people having an affair. Rather than rely on symbols or allegory, this narrative is presented in a straightforward, careful manner that reflect...
Tone
Remarkably, this story of two adulterous lovers contains neither a moral nor a moral judgment. The narrator is simply objective. He tells it like it is: this is what Anna thinks, this is what Gurov...
Writing Style
The prose in "The Lady with the Dog" is powerful stuff. Chekhov says what he wants to say exactly how he wants to say it, and he generally gets it done without wasting words or time. Think how much...
What's Up With the Title?
When this short story begins, it focuses on Gurov, who has just become aware of this mysterious woman and her pet dog. As Chekhov writes, "No one knew who she was, and every one called her simply '...
What's Up With the Ending?
First, check out what we have to say in "Classic Plot Analysis." You'll see that Chekhov wasn't one to play by the rules, at least when it came to the traditional structure of a short story. Rather...
Plot Analysis
"The Lady with the Dog" is famous for breaking the rules of what a short story should be. As author Vladimir Nabokov said of this work in his Lectures on Russian Literature, "There is no problem, n...
Trivia
The 1960 film adaptation of "Lady with the Dog" won a prize for "lofty humanism and artistic excellence" at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival. (Source)Chekhov may have written 201 short stories, but hi...
Steaminess Rating
PG-13 for or adult themes, since "The Lady with the Dog" is about an adulterous affair. On the one hand, we don't get to see any actual sex here; Chekhov glosses over the physical act in Yalta with...
Allusions
Sydney Jones, The Geisha (3.23)