Image of Poles and Byelorussian-Lithuanians in multilingual literature of Belarus in 19th century

Abstract

In this paper the imagological aspect of the 19th century multilingual literature of Belarus is investigated. The author analyzes the auto-image (the self-presentation of Belarusian-Lithuanians) as well as the hetero-image (the re-creation of the nearest geographical neighbors – the Poles). Attention is focused on the motifs and stereotypes about the Other, related to the common historical past of the Belarusian and Polish ethnic groups and the tasks facing their ancestors in the period under review.