How is Gogol’s “Overcoat” made after all?

The subject of the article - a deep plot structure of “The Overcoat” by Gogol is analysed. The main theme - the authors reveal a system of presages, hidden in the author's digressions, first and foremost in two ekphrases, which foreshadow the main plot events. Methodology - a structural and semantic research method is applied. Results - it is shown that the two ekphrases (description of a picture of a woman in the shop's window and portrait of a general on a snuff-box) symbolically foreshadow the two key plot events - theft of the overcoat and the death of the main character. Besides, it is revealed that a story about a district chief of police is in fact a forerunner of the whole composition pattern of ”The Overcoat” and also foreshadows the final events of Gogol's novelette. Application of results - literary studies and literary theory. Conclusion : the plot structure of “The Overcoat” is based on a system of hidden prophetic elements, which foreshadow the key events of the novelette.