The Project Gutenberg EBook of Savva and The Life of Man, by Leonid Andreyev

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Title: Savva and The Life of Man

Author: Leonid Andreyev

Release Date: August 9, 2004 [EBook #13147]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE MODERN DRAMA SERIES

EDITED BY EDWIN BJOeRKMAN

SAVVA

THE LIFE OF MAN

BY LEONID ANDREYEV

SAVVA

THE LIFE OF MAN

TWO PLAYS BY

LEONID ANDREYEV

TRANSLATED FROM THE RUSSIAN
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY

THOMAS SELTZER

BOSTON
LITTLE, BROWN, AND
COMPANY

1920

1914,
BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.

_This edition is authorized by Leonid Andreyev, who has
selected the plays included in it._

_All Dramatic rights reserved by
Edwin Bjoerkman_

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF PLAYS BY LEONID ANDREYEV

SAVVA

THE LIFE OF MAN

INTRODUCTION

For the last twenty years Leonid Andreyev and Maxim Gorky have
by turns occupied the centre of the stage of Russian literature.
Prophetic vision is no longer required for an estimate of their
permanent contribution to the intellectual and literary development
of Russia. It represents the highest ideal expression of a period
in Russian history that was pregnant with stirring and far-reaching
events--the period of revolution and counter-revolution. It was a
period when Russian society passed from mood to mood at an extremely
rapid tempo: from energetic aggressiveness, exultation, high hope,
and confident trust in the triumph of the people's cause to apathetic
inaction, gloom, despair, frivolity, and religious mysticism. This
important dramatic epoch in the national life of Russia Andreyev
and Gorky wrote down with such force and passion that they became
recognized at once as the leading exponents of their time.

Despite this close external association, their work differs
essentially in character. In fact, it is scarcely possible to
conceive of greater artistic contrasts. Gorky is plain, direct, broad,
realistic, elemental. His art is native,