FUNCTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PARATEXT IN P. MERIMEE’S HISTORICAL ESSAYS AND DRAMAS ABOUT FALSE DMITRY

This article is devoted to the analysis of the functional meaning of the paratext (titles, notes, appendices and remarks), aimed at studying the features of the main text of the essays and dramas that made up the series of works by Merimee about False Dmitry. Its relevance is due to the insufficient knowledge of the topic stated in the title. The purpose of the work is to identify the author's intention reflected in texts with the same thematic composition and genre similarity, as well as the reasons for postponing their publication. Its methodological basis is represented by a synthesis of historical and cultural approach and elements of narratology. The analysis revealed the polyfunctionality of the paratext. Its main meaning lies in the “metatext” function of the comment. The interpretation of historical realities and the translation of foreign borrowings are included in the notes. The historical documents presented in the appendices are intended to reflect the author's objectivity in presenting and evaluating the events described. Clarification of the writer's method of cognition of historical truth and a veiled notification of the reason for the publication failure is given in the preface to the plays. The comparison of the titles of the essays, the titles of the dramas, their preface and remarks made it possible to reveal the author's idea, which affected the plot variability and genre modulations, focused on introducing different categories of readers to the works about False Dmitry and on continuing the dramatic interpretation of the impostor's story. The second function of the paratext is to advertise the address of the publisher and the price of the book included in the preface to the dramatic works. The results obtained can be used in further research of little-studied historical essays and late dramaturgy of Merimee.