727 Quotes by Anton Chekhov

We need new forms! New forms. And if we can't have them, we had better have nothing at all.

Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.

Once a man gets a fixed idea, there's nothing to be done.

I hope that in the next world I shall be able to look back upon this life and say: Those were beautiful dreams.

Be sure not to discuss your hero's state of mind. Make it clear from his actions."(Letter to Alexander Chekhov, May 10, 1886)

His reading suggested a man swimming in the sea among the wreckage of his ship, and trying to save his life by greedily clutching first at one spar and then at another.

True happiness is impossible without solitude. The fallen angel probably betrayed God because he longed for solitude, which angels do not know.

In displaying the psychology of your characters, minute particulars are essential. God save us from vague generalizations!"(Letter to Alexander Chekhov, May 10, 1886)

But perhaps the universe is suspended on the tooth of some monster.