THEORETICAL PHILOLOGICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION OF IRONY: MAIN DIRECTIONS OF STUDY

Abstract

The article deals with the theoretical interpretation of irony by modern philological science. The authors consistently present the main directions of studying irony as a phenomenon. In the broadest sense, irony is the caustic intonation of a statement, often identified with ridicule or with humor hidden under the mask of seriousness. In ordinary consciousness, irony has a reduced form, whereas for a scientific study of this phenomenon it needs to be considered in detail as a process. The ontology of the comic defines the status of irony as a device among others – parody, grotesque, burlesque, travesty. It is also important to understand irony, along with humor and satire, as an aesthetic attitude. Specificity of irony is fixed by its axiological system and structure, as well as by the dialectics of interaction between the negative and positive components of evaluating subject-object relations. The comic in irony has the form of a triad: the axiological structure is represented by an external statement, an inner negation and an end statement. Irony also has a simultaneous bi-directionality to the object and subject (self-irony), while it is emotionality that is the way to express the relationship between the subject of irony and the environment. On the basis of studying various concepts of irony, the authors of the article come to the conclusion that for an adequate interpretation of irony, a recipient often needs a complete artistic text. The context that connects deepseated socio-cultural and historical-literary meanings to the interpretation of the text is also important.