ENThe subject of this article is the early poetry of A. Nyka-Niliūnas, mainly the poems written in the thirties and forties. Our aim is to show the poet's openness to an agrarian culture and to also indicate the similarities and the differences between A. Nyka-Niliūnas and the early poetry of the remaining "earth poets" (V. Mačernis, K. Bradūnas, H. Nagys). The methodology used is based on the semiotic and psychoanalytical schools. A. Nyka-Niliūnas' poems most representative of the early period are subjected to the strategy of close reading. Our purpose is to reveal the specificity of Nyka-Niliūnas' world view as well as the semantic changes in the structure of the poet's later poetry.