TYPOLOGY OF HUMOR-CREATING MEANS IN THE BIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVE (A STUDY OF BORIS JOHNSON’S “THE CHURCHILL FACTOR. HOW ONE MAN MADE HISTORY” AND ITS UKRAINIAN TRANSLATION)

Abstract

This paper addresses the ways of using humor in English biographical narrative and its Ukrainian translation to engage the reader to getting familiar with the book, to build a dialogue between the author and the reader as well as to fully characterize the protagonist. The paper claims that Boris Johnson's “The Churchill Factor. How one man made history" is a vivid example of the effective use of humorous techniques in a biographical narrative and its Ukrainian translation. Boris Johnson excels in utilizing humor as a tool of highlighting Churchill's weaknesses and strong points as a political leader and an outstanding personality by keeping the balance between dramatic and funny episodes in the protagonist’s life. The analysis proves that the main means of creating humor in the text under discussion are exaggeration and hyperbole, metaphorization, word play, and irony. The paper claims that Johnson's use of the above humor-producing techniques is effective for achieving several purposes. Along with engaging the readership’s interest towards the book’s content and further maintaining it, the humor-oriented narrative helps to humanize Churchill,making him more intelligible for the reader. Humor also facilitates conveying and interpreting complex ideas and motifs Churchill was guided by throughout his political carreer and daily life. The paper concludes by the reflections on how the use of humor-producing techniques influenced the construction of the author’s axiological vision of the biography historical persona, which is suggested to the reader at large.