Chudomir’s Comic Skaz in Light of the Dialogue with Mikhail Zoshchenko’s Short Stories

Authors:

Pages: 43-61
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/MLEC1949

Abstract:

The article explores the similarities between the comic skaz in the works of the Bulgarian writer Chudomir (Dimitar Chorbadzhiyski) and the Russian prose writer Mikhail Zoshchenko. It begins with a review of theoretical approaches that connect the two authors under the concept of a literary form of the comic, with an emphasis on linguistic devices and the subversion of value hierarchies. The main part of the article is devoted to the similarities in their narrative models, highlighting skaz-related features such as the absence of an authorial voice, dialogicity, colloquial tone, and double-layered narration. Specific stylistic and linguistic devices are analyzed – including malapropisms, stylistic inertia, and the „second perception of the object“ – illustrated with examples from the works of both authors, in order to demonstrate a motive and linguistic proximity in achieving the intended comic effect

Keywords:

skaz theory; comic skaz; narrativity; linguistic devices

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