Swan Song Summary

Swan Song 

Swan Song is written by Anton Chekov. 'Swan song' refers to the final performance given before death or retirement. The protagonist in this one-act play is Vasili Svietlovidoff. He expresses his feelings and emotions to Nikita Ivanich, a prompter.

     Svietlovidoff is a 68 yrs old comedian. He has forty five years of experience in acting field. Old age has reduced his eagerness and strength in acting. This makes him feel tired and worthless. He feels isolated and lonely. He realises the fact that not even a single person is there to comfort him as he has grown old. 

      Vasili Svietlovidoff is reminded of his past life. As  a comedian he has gained great fame and applause from audience. He cherishes the memory of his lover. At the same time he feels lonely because his lover has rejected to marry a comedian.

     He compare himself with squeezed lemon and broken bottle. He thinks he is losing his acting ability and can’t live with truth that how he is getting forgotten in recent days. He is not getting enough shows too.He is lamenting his plight. He starts  to perform Shakespeare's play with Nikita.

Finally, at the conclusion of the play, Svetlovidov recognised that the time had come for him to exit the stage. He accepted that ageing had suffocated his vitality and abilities. His farewell song had already been sung. This acceptance of reality aided him in coping with his current circumstances. This subject tells us that rather than dwelling on what we lack, we should accept the reality of our circumstance and do all possible to change it, even if that means letting go.