The Lithuanianisation of Adam Mickiewicz
In this article, I analyse the cultural practices applied by Lithuanian interwar intellectuals seeking to Lithuanianise the great Polish romantic poet Adam Mickiewicz. Mickiewicz was born to a family of Polish-speaking nobles in a predominantly Belarusian part of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania...
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University of Tartu Press
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Interlitteraria |
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| Online Access: | https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/IL/article/view/23528 |
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| author | Viktorija Šeina |
| author_facet | Viktorija Šeina |
| author_sort | Viktorija Šeina |
| collection | DOAJ |
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In this article, I analyse the cultural practices applied by Lithuanian interwar intellectuals seeking to Lithuanianise the great Polish romantic poet Adam Mickiewicz. Mickiewicz was born to a family of Polish-speaking nobles in a predominantly Belarusian part of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Because his historically themed works had an impact on the Lithuanian national movement, Lithuanian intellectuals sought ways to attribute Mickiewicz to Lithuanian culture.
Mickiewicz, who wrote in Polish, was a stalwart Polish-Lithuanian patriot. As this was in conflict with ethnocultural Lithuanian nationalism, interwar defenders of Mickiewicz’s attribution to Lithuanian literature looked for additional arguments supporting the poet’s Lithuanianness. In this article, I explore two ways that Mickiewicz was Lithuanianised: through a myth surrounding his ethnic origins and by introducing distortions into Lithuanian translations of the poet’s works.
From the end of the nineteenth century, Lithuanians generally saw their local nobility as ‘Polonised Lithuanians’. This view applied to Mickiewicz as well. Without having any factual evidence to support it, the interwar Lithuanian philosopher Stasys Šalkauskis sought to convince readers that Mickiewicz was descended from the Rimvydas clan. Another means of Lithuanianising Mickiewicz was through ideologically motivated editing and distorting translations of his works into Lithuanian. The most striking example of this was a 1927 anthology of the poet’s works compiled by Lithuanian literary historian Mykolas Biržiška.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-abe2fbf813534c54b113b9f3393e1089 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1406-0701 2228-4729 |
| language | deu |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Tartu Press |
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| series | Interlitteraria |
| spelling | doaj-art-abe2fbf813534c54b113b9f3393e10892025-01-28T09:18:54ZdeuUniversity of Tartu PressInterlitteraria1406-07012228-47292023-12-0128210.12697/IL.2023.28.2.10The Lithuanianisation of Adam MickiewiczViktorija Šeina In this article, I analyse the cultural practices applied by Lithuanian interwar intellectuals seeking to Lithuanianise the great Polish romantic poet Adam Mickiewicz. Mickiewicz was born to a family of Polish-speaking nobles in a predominantly Belarusian part of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Because his historically themed works had an impact on the Lithuanian national movement, Lithuanian intellectuals sought ways to attribute Mickiewicz to Lithuanian culture. Mickiewicz, who wrote in Polish, was a stalwart Polish-Lithuanian patriot. As this was in conflict with ethnocultural Lithuanian nationalism, interwar defenders of Mickiewicz’s attribution to Lithuanian literature looked for additional arguments supporting the poet’s Lithuanianness. In this article, I explore two ways that Mickiewicz was Lithuanianised: through a myth surrounding his ethnic origins and by introducing distortions into Lithuanian translations of the poet’s works. From the end of the nineteenth century, Lithuanians generally saw their local nobility as ‘Polonised Lithuanians’. This view applied to Mickiewicz as well. Without having any factual evidence to support it, the interwar Lithuanian philosopher Stasys Šalkauskis sought to convince readers that Mickiewicz was descended from the Rimvydas clan. Another means of Lithuanianising Mickiewicz was through ideologically motivated editing and distorting translations of his works into Lithuanian. The most striking example of this was a 1927 anthology of the poet’s works compiled by Lithuanian literary historian Mykolas Biržiška. https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/IL/article/view/23528Adam Mickiewicznationalism studiesliterary canon studiesLithuanian national movement |
| spellingShingle | Viktorija Šeina The Lithuanianisation of Adam Mickiewicz Interlitteraria Adam Mickiewicz nationalism studies literary canon studies Lithuanian national movement |
| title | The Lithuanianisation of Adam Mickiewicz |
| title_full | The Lithuanianisation of Adam Mickiewicz |
| title_fullStr | The Lithuanianisation of Adam Mickiewicz |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Lithuanianisation of Adam Mickiewicz |
| title_short | The Lithuanianisation of Adam Mickiewicz |
| title_sort | lithuanianisation of adam mickiewicz |
| topic | Adam Mickiewicz nationalism studies literary canon studies Lithuanian national movement |
| url | https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/IL/article/view/23528 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT viktorijaseina thelithuanianisationofadammickiewicz AT viktorijaseina lithuanianisationofadammickiewicz |