Parody of A. Blok’s symbolism in the prose by Mikhail Zoshchenko

In M. Zoshchenko’s analytical book ‘At the Turning Point” A. Blok is metaphorically called a “sad knight”, symbolizing the crisis of individualism and the image of a “lifeless person”. These semantics then serve as the parodied object in “M.P. Sinyagin (Memories of Michel Sinyagin)” and denote animality and lifelessness. Curiously, the types of “beast” and “lifeless person” are paradoxically intertwined, compatible with the images of the “dreamer and the “superfluous person.” In “M.P. Sinyagin (Memories of Michel Sinyagin)” there is a lot of discussion about the problem of memories. The motifs of oblivion and memory occupy an important place in the description of the spiritual drama of intellectuals, and they are given in an existential situation and at a time when “animal” and “non-living” are manifested in a person. The motif of love is an important component in the formation of the plot. The hero, under the influence of the aesthetics of Blok’s symbolism, strives for the mystery and illusory nature of love, falling in love with Simochka and Isabella, who represents the Stranger and the Beautiful Lady, female images alternate as the hero experiences a crisis of individualism. This emotional turn is Zoshchenko’s parody of Blok’s theme of love. Parody is often a method of literary struggle that contributes to the evolutionary development of literary forms. The parody of Blok’s symbolism, along with reminiscences from the poet’s biography and a reference to his identity of the intelligentsia, contains Zoshchenko’s hidden reflections on the problems of literary inheritance, the creative potential of the intelligentsia and the direction of development of post-revolutionary literature.