The article analyzes the triad fact – pathos – reader from the point of view of how the emotional connotation of the factual foundation of the text impacts the reader. Two texts by M. Gorky are considered; both of them recreate the same event – A. P. Chekhov’s funeral. One of them is imbued with the pathos of invective, the other – with the pathos of irony. Form and content elements of the text affecting the readers’ perception of this text are described.