satirical image

The article researches the problems and the poetics of the play by V. Katayev «A Million Pangs»: devices of creating satirical images are regarded; the problem of a literary dialogue of the author with his contemporaries (M. Bulgakov, N. Erdman, I. Ilf and E. Petrov) is revealed; the peculiarity of Katayev’s satire on pre-revolutionary intelligentsia is identified.

The article researches the play poetics of the theatre piece «Lickspittle» by I. Ilf, E. Petrov, M. Volpin on the level of the plot, characters, literary reminiscences, language humor. Functions of the co-authors’ play strategy are identified, such as achieving the synthesis of satire and vaudeville principles and the techniques of text structure. The link between «Lickspittle» and the novel by I. Ilf and E. Petrov «The Golden Calf» is revealed.