The Seagull Study Guide

Glossary of Terms

diagesis

the fictional world in which the events of the play take place

ether

likely refers to the solvent diethyl ether, used in medicine as an anaesthetic

iodoform

an antiseptic, commonly used in medicine in this period

Kiev

The capital of Ukraine.

kopeck

(or copeck) Russian currency: one hundredth of a ruble

La Dame aux Camelias

A novel by Alexander Dumas, considered one of the greatest love stories of all time.

lotto

another word for "lottery" - a game which involves drawing lots to win

Maupassant

a popular French writer from the 19th-century, who is traditionally thought to be one of the fathers of the modern short story - a form Chekhov too also came to excel in

proscenium arch

a theater in which the audience views the action through a large archway. Most theaters built from Victorian times to the present day tend to be in this configuration.

Pushkin

Russian romantic author considered to be the father of modern Russian literature.

rubles

the Russian currency: 1 ruble is divided into 100 copecks

snuff

a smokeless form of tobacco, usually kept in a snuffbox, and inhaled through the nose - pinches of it actually sniffed up through the nostril

snuffbox

used for keeping snuff in

the Decadent School

a group of writers who valued artifice and symbolism above naturalism (at the time, the prevalent tradition)

Tolstoy

A 19th century Russian novelist, considered one of the greatest novelists of all time.

Turgenev

a major Russian novelist and playwright. His novel "Fathers and Sons" is one of the most highly-regarded novels in Russian literature.

Zola

a 19th century French novelist, one of the key contributors to the establishment of naturalism