von Haller, Ewald Christian von Kleist, Barthold Heinrich Brockes). In the poem the reader finds a good deal of the didactic element so popular at the time. Donelaitis was among the first European writers of the age to employ the classical hexameter. (Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, for example, used it in 1748). Furtheron, this Lithuanian poet nature was not conceived in the spirit of the Age of Enlightenment; the peasants he portrayed were not sentimentalized stereotypes. People in The Seasons are drawn realistically, with their labors, experiences, cares, and primitive mentality, abounding with mythology. Thirdly, Donelaitis is characterized by his clear stand in the social, ethnic, and moral clash between the immigrant colonists and the old Lithuanian inhabitants. This was his original contribution. Cultural significance The Seasons is the first classical piece of fiction written in the Lithuanian language, the first Lithuanian poem as well as the most successful Lithuanian hexameter piece to date. It has long stepped over the borders of Lithuanian literature: it has been translated into Belarusian, Bulgarian, Czech, English, Finnish, French, Georgian, German, Hungarian, Japanese, Yiddish, Italian, Latvian, Polish, Russian, Romanian and Esperanto. The Seasons (most probably in its German translation) was highly valued by Adam Mickiewicz and has inspired him to write a poem, Konrad Wallenrod. Goethe is also said to have liked the poem. Acclaimed Lithuanian theatre director Eimuntas Nekrošius has adapted the first and third part of the piece to the performances Donelaitis. Metai. Pavasario linksmybės (Donelaitis.The Seasons.Spring joys) and Donelaitis. Metai. Rudens darbai (Donelaitis.The Seasons.Autumn toils), staged in 2003. References External links English translation of The Seasons About the poem - from the Lithuanian Classical Literature Anthology Full text of the poem in the Lithuanian language The text written in the original spelling, with the short syllables marked to show scansion Lithuanian poems Epic poems 1818 poems Lithuania Minor