Oxymoron in Victor Hugo’s Novel «The Man Who Laughs»: A Stylistic and Rhetorical Analysis
Kazhytay B. Orazbek M. Zeinullina A. Sagyndykuly B. Ryskul B.
June 2025Bilingual Publishing Group
Forum for Linguistic Studies
2025#7Issue 6376 - 388 pp.
This article examines the oxymoron as an expressive device actively employed by Victor Hugo in the novel «The Man Who Laughs». The study aims to identify the structural, semantic, and functional features of oxymoronic constructions found in the literary text. Special attention is paid to how semantically opposite elements are combined within a single utterance, forming a poetics of paradox typical of Romanticism. Based on analysis of specific passages from the novel, the research identifies lexical-morphological models of oxymorons and their role in creating emotional tension, vivid imagery, and philosophical depth. Oxymoron is considered not only as a stylistic figure, but also as a key component of the author’s worldview, conveying the idea of the fusion of opposites in human fate. The material of the study is the Russian translation of the novel, compared with the original French text. The article applies methods of contextual and lingo-stylistic analysis, whose results confirm the significance of oxymorons in the compositional structure and ideological content of the work.
Linguistic Analysis , Oxymoron , Poetics of Paradox , Romanticism , Stylistics , The Man Who Laughs , Victor Hugo
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L.N. Gumilev Eurasian National University, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
NJSC «Toraighyrov University», Pavlodar, 140008, Kazakhstan
NCAS «Pavlodar Pedagogical University Named after Alkey Margulan», Pavlodar, 140008, Kazakhstan
NCAS «Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University», Almaty, 050000, Kazakhstan
L.N. Gumilev Eurasian National University
NJSC «Toraighyrov University»
NCAS «Pavlodar Pedagogical University Named after Alkey Margulan»
NCAS «Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University»
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