Bystrova T.E. To the Question about Precedentiality in the Works of Anton Chekhov (Based on Anton Chekhov's Short Story “The Headman (A Sketch)”)

Abstract: The article is devoted to the problem of precedentiality in the texts of fiction, provides a definition of the term 'precedent text' and describes this phenomenon in the modern Russian language. The author of the article also touches upon precedent names as a type of precedent texts. Different types of precedent names are studied based on the case study of Anton Chekhov's short story "The Headman (A Sketch) ". Many realities of Moscow life of the end of the XIX century, which themselves repersent precedent names of those times, were reflected in the works of Anton Chekhov. The method of linguostylistic analysis of texts is used in this research. There a wide range of precedent names which can be found in the works of Anton Chekhov. According to the author, by analyzing one of the short stories of Anton Chekhov it is possible to identify several types of precedent names that are most typical for the creative work of this writer. The novelty of this research is caused by the fact that precedentiality in the prose of Anton Chekhov was not addressed previously by researchers in the field of language, culture and literature. In particular, precedent names are a special yet understudied aspect of the creative work of a great Russia's classical author Anton Chekhov. For example, in the short story 'The Headman (A Sketch) one can observe the following types of precedent names: last names of famous persons who were Chekhov's contemporaries such as lawyers, scientists, composers, and etc., geographical names and eloquent expressions. 

Keywords: