--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'll take a [Pavel] Chekhov comparison…" description: "\"I'll take a [Pavel] Chekhov comparison any day! He's of course one of the great masters at the short story form, and has helped define traditional conf..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/alexander-weinstein-17341_chekhov_i-ll-take-a-pavel-chekhov-comparison-any_1623170.jpg" --- # I'll take a \[Pavel\] Chekhov comparison any day! He's of… ![“I'll take a [Pavel] Chekhov comparison any day! He's of course one of the great masters at the short story form, and has helped define traditional conflict as we understand it.” quote by Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/alexander-weinstein-17341_chekhov_i-ll-take-a-pavel-chekhov-comparison-any_1623170.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/alexander-weinstein-17341_chekhov_i-ll-take-a-pavel-chekhov-comparison-any_1623170.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/alexander-weinstein-17341_chekhov_i-ll-take-a-pavel-chekhov-comparison-any_1623170.jpg) > “I'll take a \[Pavel\] Chekhov comparison any day! He's of course one of the great masters at the short story form, and has helped define traditional conflict as we understand it.” [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Chekhov exemplifies concise storytelling that defines conflict, making him a benchmark for short‑form writers. **In simple terms:** Chekhov sets the standard for short story conflict. Key Takeaway Study Chekhov’s conflict techniques. Themes literature conflict craft Mood analytical educational Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - creative writing - literature classes - story workshops Key Concepts short story structure narrative tension Questions to Reflect On - How can you adapt Chekhov’s methods to your genre? - What limits does strict brevity impose? A Different Perspective Chekhov’s style may not fit all genres. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comparison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparison/) [Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) [Short story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-story/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [ While my stories are experimental, they're also very traditional. I love the works of the great Russian writers like \[Pavel\] Chekhov and \[Lev\] Tolstoy,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-weinstein/while-my-stories-are-experimental-they-re-also-very-traditional-i/) [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) > [ I see this quality \[real interest and joy\] in the work of \[Pavel\] Chekhov, of course, and \[Alexei\] Tolstoy and really just about any… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-see-this-quality-real-interest-and-joy-in-the-work-of-pavel-chekhov/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“He keeps going, going, going on; his people groan and fall one after the other, but he keeps on going, going and in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/he-keeps-going-going-going-on-his-people-groan-and-fall-one-after-the/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [If we're lucky, writer and reader alike, we'll finish the last line or two of a short story and then just sit for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/if-we-re-lucky-writer-and-reader-alike-we-ll-finish-the-last-line-or/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [Chekhov - shall I be blunt? - is the greatest short story writer who ever lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/chekhov-shall-i-be-blunt-is-the-greatest-short-story-writer-who-ever/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Great masters merit emulation, not worship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/great-masters-merit-emulation-not-worship/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [“He chose The Metamorphosis over The Trial, he chose Bartleby over Moby-Dick, he chose A Simple Heart over Bouvard and Pecuchet, and A Christmas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/he-chose-the-metamorphosis-over-the-trial-he-chose-bartleby-over-moby/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Part of the reason why a certain skill often seems so effortless for great masters is not just because they’ve mastered the process—they really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/part-of-the-reason-why-a-certain-skill-often-seems-so-effortless-for/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [No one can bar me from joyfully proceeding on what the great masters have left us; after all, to rediscover everything again, should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-mendelssohn/no-one-can-bar-me-from-joyfully-proceeding-on-what-the-great-masters/) [Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-mendelssohn/) > [Morphy gained most of his wins by playing directly and simply, and it is simple and logical method that constitutes the true brilliance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-raul-capablanca/morphy-gained-most-of-his-wins-by-playing-directly-and-simply-and-it/) [Jose Raul Capablanca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-raul-capablanca/) > [“I conn'd old times, I sat studying at the feet of the great masters, Now if eligible O that the great masters might return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-conn-d-old-times-i-sat-studying-at-the-feet-of-the-great-masters/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Refine your senses through the great masters of music, painting, and poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-haas/refine-your-senses-through-the-great-masters-of-music-painting-and/) [Ernst Haas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-haas/) > [“What a sad paradox, though Amalfitano. 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You have to accept that your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ivory/it-s-important-to-see-the-work-of-as-many-directors-as-possible-but/) [James Ivory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ivory/) > [“The formal innovations of the great masters always have a certain discreetness about them; such is true perfection; only among the small masters does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-formal-innovations-of-the-great-masters-always-have-a-certain/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) ## More by Alexander Weinstein > [I was really interested in this ability for others to create virtual memories for us. In "The Cartographers" I explore this through Adam Woods,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-weinstein/i-was-really-interested-in-this-ability-for-others-to-create-virtual/) [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) > [“The city overwhelmed me. 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I'm particularly interested in enlightenment and the spiritual pursuit to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-weinstein/moksha-is-really-a-satire-of-myself-i-ve-always-been-interested-in/) [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) > ["Rocket Night" is my take on bullying culture. I think this is getting better, thanks to the anti-bullying work being done by my generation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-weinstein/rocket-night-is-my-take-on-bullying-culture-i-think-this-is-getting/) [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) > [What is the emotion of an empty inbox? An unliked Post? An ignored dating app message? 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Without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-weinstein/i-think-the-challenge-for-humans-remains-the-same-as-it-has-always/) [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) > [I really admire the experimentalists who challenge traditional narrative - writers like Ishmael Reed, Michael Martone, Donald Barthelme, Tatyana Tolstaya, George Saunders, and many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-weinstein/i-really-admire-the-experimentalists-who-challenge-traditional/) [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) > [In Nepal, I realized a certain part of my spiritual search had come to an end. I wasn't ever going to live in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-weinstein/in-nepal-i-realized-a-certain-part-of-my-spiritual-search-had-come-to/) [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) > [It's true, I do love the semi-epiphany. For example, in "Fall Line," the character's final decision is less epiphany than imbecility. 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Bush… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-weinstein/i-m-just-worried-that-the-technology-i-invented-in-that-story-the/) [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) > [I set many of my stories in a gritty "realist" world, but one that is plagued by an overuse of technology, which is akin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-weinstein/i-set-many-of-my-stories-in-a-gritty-realist-world-but-one-that-is/) [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) > [We shuffle out of office buildings after being laid-off by draconian bosses; we sit on hold for ten minutes only to be told by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-weinstein/we-shuffle-out-of-office-buildings-after-being-laid-off-by-draconian/) [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) [Explore all 37 Alexander Weinstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) ## More Chekhov quotes > [“Art, science, love, inspiration, ideals—choose out all the words with which humanity is wont, or has been in the past, to be consoled or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/art-science-love-inspiration-ideals-choose-out-all-the-words-with/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [There are no whys in a person's life, and very few hows. In the end, in search of useful wisdom, you could only come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/there-are-no-whys-in-a-person-s-life-and-very-few-hows-in-the-end-in/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [“He did not want to be original; he made superhuman efforts to be like everybody else: but there is no escaping one's destiny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/he-did-not-want-to-be-original-he-made-superhuman-efforts-to-be-like/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [Chekhov is this poet of melancholy and isolation and of wishing you were somewhere else than where you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/chekhov-is-this-poet-of-melancholy-and-isolation-and-of-wishing-you/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“He keeps going, going, going on; his people groan and fall one after the other, but he keeps on going, going and in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/he-keeps-going-going-going-on-his-people-groan-and-fall-one-after-the/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [I don't think my looks are modern. I always imagined I'd end up doing Chekhov, Ibsen and Shakespeare all my life and never play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kingston/i-don-t-think-my-looks-are-modern-i-always-imagined-i-d-end-up-doing/) [Alex Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kingston/) > [“Any idiot can face a crisis, it is day to day living that wears you out. —Anton Chekhov”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/any-idiot-can-face-a-crisis-it-is-day-to-day-living-that-wears-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Chekhov will seek out the key situation in the life of a cabman or a charwoman, and make them glow for a brief moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wilson-lynd/chekhov-will-seek-out-the-key-situation-in-the-life-of-a-cabman-or-a/) [Robert Wilson Lynd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wilson-lynd/) > [As Michael (Chekhov)'s pupil, I learned more about acting. I learned psychology, history, and the good manners of art - taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/as-michael-chekhov-s-pupil-i-learned-more-about-acting-i-learned/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [If we're lucky, writer and reader alike, we'll finish the last line or two of a short story and then just sit for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/if-we-re-lucky-writer-and-reader-alike-we-ll-finish-the-last-line-or/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [Chekhov said: let's put God - and all these grand progressive ideas - to one side. Let's begin with man; let's be kind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/chekhov-said-let-s-put-god-and-all-these-grand-progressive-ideas-to/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [Reading Chekhov was just like the angels singing to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/reading-chekhov-was-just-like-the-angels-singing-to-me/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [When we remove the snowdrift piled up over Chekhov in recent years, we uncover a man profoundly agitated by social problems; a writer whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/when-we-remove-the-snowdrift-piled-up-over-chekhov-in-recent-years-we/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [Read the great stuff, but read the stuff that isn't so great, too. Great stuff is very discouraging. If you read only Beckett and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/read-the-great-stuff-but-read-the-stuff-that-isn-t-so-great-too-great/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I'll never forget reading Chekhov's "A Doctor's Visit" on a train to Hawthorne, New York, and I got to the end - the scene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ross/i-ll-never-forget-reading-chekhov-s-a-doctor-s-visit-on-a-train-to/) [Adam Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ross/) Browse all 132 Chekhov quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'll take a [Pavel] Chekhov comparison any day! 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