ON THE PERIODIZATION OF LITHUANIAN LITERATURE

It is next to impossible to draft a history of literature which could suit everybody’s taste and which could be to everybody’s liking. An aesthete, seeking beauty, art and aesthetic values in literature, will perceive the history or literature in his own way; whereas an ideologist, sociologist or a critic of culture will first and foremost focus on the ideas and viewpoints, expressed via literature, and therefore will conceive the history of literature in a different way; those concerned with literature as a means of expressing the consciousness of the nation will interpret the history of literature from yet another vantage point, etc. The development of the Lithuanian literature (the one created in the Lithuanian language) in the very beginning (up to the 19th century) was based mostly on religious motives, at a later stage (the 19th century) it was influenced by patriotic motives, and still later (the 20th century) the development was motivated by aesthetic elements. However, the above mentioned motives often were and still are interrelated. The centuries were most detrimental to the perception of the history of our nation. Therefore, the history of literature being written now or the works about to be written in the near future should first and foremost aim at trying to shape the right understanding of the historical development of our nation. The history of the Lithuanian literature is divided into the following major stages (which are based on the crucial events in the history of the nation): 1) up to 1795 (loss of statehood); 2) 1795–1918 (struggle in order to secure the identity of the nation and restore statehood; 3) 1918–1940 (the period of Independence); 4) 1940–1990 (the second occupation; Lithuania and exodus; 5) the period from 1990 (after Independence was regained). The above framework makes it possible to tackle more detailed issues of periodization and specific problems related to literature.