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Abstract: The article describes the role of an anecdote as a small prosaic genre in the cultural consciousness of the 18th and early 19th centuries. The main types and forms of an anecdote in an autodocumental text are studied on the basis of “The Notes” by the famous poet of the 18th century G. Derzhavin. It is proved that Derzhavin was able to use the forms of a classicфд historical anecdote, as pronounced by his contemporaries, and an anecdote, becoming one of the strategies for depicting his own personality in “The Notes”. We are talking about the strategies for portraying different qualities of Derzhavin: Derzhavin — a famous poet, Derzhavin — a man struggling with his passions and experiencing the adventures of all kinds, and finally Derzhavin — a statesman, an ideal grandee and the true son of the Fatherland. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that, on the one hand, the anecdotes “revive” the rational epic narration of the notes, making up its “zest”. While telling jokes, the author proceeds from a descriptive style to a style of artistic narration. On the other hand, it was the jokes that allowed the author of the notes to achieve the integrity of his own image, when it was constantly breaking down into a number of successive classic nominations: from a corporal-young lover to the state secretary of Catherine II, from a card sharper to the first poet of Russia.