"The Black Monk" is a famous novella by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, written in 1893. The work tells the story of the talented scholar Kovrin, who suffers from hallucinations in the form of the black monk. The novella explores themes of madness, genius, self-deception, and the search for the meaning of life. Chekhov masterfully describes the protagonist’s psychological state, blurring the lines between reality and illusion.