Lyrical prose has become widespread in the literature of Finland, as in the literatures of other Northern European countries. However, the genre definition of short lyrical prose remains one of the problematic issues of literary criticism. Researchers have already identified works belonging to lyrical prose in the works of Zacharias Topelius (Jr.). The article examines prose works by Finnish writers in Finnish and Swedish. Lyrical prose was characteristic of the works of both realists and modernists and postmodernists. Already at the turn of the 19 th and 20 th centuries, experimental works appeared in the form of aphorisms, instructions, and miniatures. The article focuses on short lyrical prose. Its features in Finnish literature are examined using the example of works of Johannes Linnankoski “Small Catechism”, Juhani Aho “Shavings”, Väinö Kirstinä “House in the Country”, Risto Ahti “What is Happening”, Juha Seppälä “Super Market”. Elmer Diktonius in his work Onnela talks about the fate of his native country. The method of this narration varies, but the common problem is the genre definition: a story, a short story, a novella, a poem in prose. Despite the common features: brevity, plot limitation to one line of narration, the question of genre affiliation of Finnish lyrical prose remains debatable