Abstract
This article examines the oxymoron as an expressive device actively employed by Victor Hugo in the novel «The Man Who Laughs». The study aims to identify the structural, semantic, and functional features of oxymoronic constructions found in the literary text. Special attention is paid to how semantically opposite elements are combined within a single utterance, forming a poetics of paradox typical of Romanticism. Based on analysis of specific passages from the novel, the research identifies lexical-morphological models of oxymorons and their role in creating emotional tension, vivid imagery, and philosophical depth. Oxymoron is considered not only as a stylistic figure, but also as a key component of the author's worldview, conveying the idea of the fusion of opposites in human fate. The material of the study is the Russian translation of the novel, compared with the original French text. The article applies methods of contextual and lingo-stylistic analysis, whose results confirm the significance of oxymorons in the compositional structure and ideological content of the work.