On the question of the ironic model of A.P. Chekhov in the comedy "The Seagull"

The subject of this study is the specificity of the ironic mode in A.P. Chekhov's play "The Seagull." The artistic mechanisms through which the playwright realizes irony that goes beyond traditional comic effect are analyzed. The central focus is on the system of characters, which is built not on antagonistic opposition but on a hidden community conditioned by mutual misunderstanding and each character's immersion in their subjective world. Irony is revealed through the contrast between static characters (Masha, Medvedenko, Polina Andreyevna) and dynamic characters (Treplev, Nina), whose painful epistemological insight is contrasted with the unchanging worldviews of the former. Special emphasis is placed on the transformation of key motifs (for example, "fishing" and "writing" in Trigorin), demonstrating not only the internal degradation of the character but also the irony of the "composition of life," which subjugates the will of individuals. Thus, the object of study is the complex two-level structure of Chekhov's irony, manifested at the levels of characters, their relationships, and recurring symbolic images, which defines the unique tragicomic pathos of the play. The methodological foundation of the research is a systemic analysis of the text, allowing the play to be viewed as a cohesive structure. Within this framework, motif analysis of recurring images is applied to reveal their transformation. A comparative method is used to analyze pairs of characters and identify the principle of hidden parallelism. The historical and literary context is drawn upon to verify conclusions. The synthesis of methods ensures the validity of the analysis. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the systematic examination of irony in "The Seagull" as a two-level phenomenon. Unlike approaches that emphasize only its comic or tragic dimensions, it is argued here that Chekhov's irony functions simultaneously as a critique of static existence and as a revelation of the tragic nature of knowledge, which, even in insight, does not grant harmony to the characters. For the first time, the evolution of the motif of "writing" in Trigorin is interpreted in detail – from "observer" to "participant" in the drama, revealing his degradation and subjugation to the "composition of life." The main conclusion is that it is precisely the multilayered irony, exposing the gap between ideal and reality, as well as among the insights of the characters themselves, that constitutes the core of Chekhov's innovative dramaturgy in "The Seagull," which finds development in "The Cherry Orchard." Thus, the play emerges as a philosophical drama, where irony becomes the key to understanding existential laws.