The Great War in Lithuanian Literature and Memoirs

Abstract

Works of fiction and memoirs relating to the First World War written in the Lithuanian languageor by Lithuanian authors have so far not been a preoccupation of Lithuanian literary scholars.Due to the breadth of the topic, the analysis in this article is limited to the most importantworks of fiction and witnesses’ memories of the Great War. The first fictional and documentaryworks analysed in the article were written during the war itself, the last at the beginning of theSecond World War. There is quite a large and very varied (from the point of view of artisticquality) amount of this kind of literature. Using methods of narratology and comparison, theauthor sets out to analyse the main themes, plots and possible influences, while placing thewritings in the history of Lithuanian literature. Key words: First World War, Lithuanian literature, military fiction, war memoirs.