LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Juozapas Ignotas Kraševskis (Jozef Ignacy Kraszewski); Juzefas Ignacas Kraševskis; Lietuvos literatūra, XIX a. pirma pusė; Literatūra; Literatūros kritika; Vilniaus literatūrinis gyvenimas; Vilnius; Jozef Ignacy Kraszewski; Literary criticism; Literature; Lithuania; Lithuanian literature, first half of 19th century; Vilnius; Vilnius literary life.
ENThe aim of the article is to present the literary culture in Lithuania in the first decades of the nineteenth century from the perspective of a critical essay by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski entitled "Literature in Vilnius at the beginning of the 19th century" ("Literatura w Wilnie w początku XIX wieku"). In his text, Kraszewski expressed his great disappointment with exiguous and ectypal - in his opinion - products of the literary culture of this time. He presented a short characterisation of periodicals issued in the analysed period in the capital city of Lithuania and their literary content. He listed "Dziennik Wileński", "Pamiętnik Magnetyczny Wileński", "Wiadomości Brukowe", and "Tygodnik Wileński". Kraszewski's refl ections were often biased due to his subjective preferences (he was very harsh for Wiadomości Brukowe, hugely popular and widely read at that time). While talking about the state of literary culture in the first decades of the nineteenth century, Kraszewski had also referred to a famous dispute between classical and romantic writers. Apparently, he favoured the "new school", although with a dose of scepticism. At the end of his essay, Kraszewski mentioned a phenomenon of graphomania, characteristic of that period. The young Kraszewski as the author of the "Literature in Vilnius at the beginning of the 19th century" amazes us by his maturity and intransigence in his opinions and assessments. He claimed that such a type of criticism was proper and reasonable. It must be admitted that many of his comments do not seem to have lost any of their relevance. [From the publication]