Ironic assessment in Saltykov-Shchedrin’s novel The Go­lovlyovs

Abstract

Irony is considered as an evaluative category in literary and artistic discourse. The au­thors point out such typical features of ironic evaluation as implicit character, i. e. the ability of irony to present the evaluative position of the author in a veiled form, subjectivity, which is directly dependent on the author's attitudes and ideological intentions, negative colouring of ironic evaluation and a high degree of its impact on the reader. The authors identify the basic techniques of expressing ironic assessment in Saltykov-Shchedrin's novel “The Golovlyovs”. The peculiarities of ironic evaluation are analyzed, and the forms of expressing irony are iden­tified. The main techniques of expressing irony in the novel are antiphrasis, unexpected ironic inference from a situation, antithesis, the use of inappropriate collocations that do not fit the context, intertextual inclusions, intentionally created absurd situations, and rhetorical ques­tions. The main feature of ironic evaluation in the novel is its satirical basis, its distancing from humour and the focus on the denunciation of human vices and social flaws in the histor­ical period of the domination of the landlord class. Ironic evaluation in Saltykov-Shchedrin's novel is an important component of the Saltykov-Shchedrin's ideostyle and reveals the speci­ficity of his narration and the peculiarities of the writer's worldview.

Keywords

• irony
• assessment
• author's modality
• idiostyle
• literary discourse
• methods of ironic assessment