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János Arany | |
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| Born | (1817-03-02)2 March 1817 Nagyszalonta, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire (nowSalonta, Romania) |
| Died | 22 October 1882(1882-10-22) (aged 65) Budapest, Austria-Hungary |
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| Language | Hungarian |
| Nationality | Hungarian |
| Alma mater | University of Debrecen |
| Notable works | Toldi trilogy,The Bards of Wales |
| Spouse | Julianna Ercsey |
János Arany (Hungarian pronunciation:[ˈjaːnoʃˈɒrɒɲ]; archaic English:John Arany;[1] 2 March 1817 – 22 October 1882) was a Hungarian poet, writer, translator and journalist.[2] He is often said to be the "Shakespeare ofballads" – he wrote more than 102 ballads that have been translated into over 50 languages, as well as theToldi trilogy.[citation needed]
He was born inNagyszalonta, Bihar County, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire. He was the youngest of ten children, but because oftuberculosis running in the family, only two of them lived beyond childhood. At the time of his birth, his older sister Sára was already married and his parents, György Arany and Sára Megyeri, were 60 and 44 years old, respectively. János Arany learned to read and write early on, and was reported to read anything he could find inHungarian andLatin. Since his parents needed support early in Arany's life, he began working at the age of 14 as an associate teacher.
From 1833 he attended theReformed College ofDebrecen where he studiedGerman andFrench, though he quickly became tired of scholarly life, and temporarily joined an acting troupe. Later on, he worked in Nagyszalonta,Debrecen, andBudapest as teacher, newspaper editor, and in various clerk positions.
In 1840 he married Julianna Ercsey (1816–1885). They had two children, Julianna, whose early death by pneumonia devastated the poet, andLászló [hu], who also became a poet and a collector of Hungarianfolktales.
In 1847, he won the competition of theKisfaludy Society (Kisfaludy Társaság) with his writing, "Toldi".
AfterToldi, one of his most famous works, was published, he andSándor Petőfi became close friends. Petőfi's death in theHungarian Revolution of 1848 had a great impact on him.
He was employed as a teacher inNagykőrös where the local museum is named after him.
Arany was elected a member of theHungarian Academy of Sciences (Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, MTA for short) in 1858. He was the secretary-general of the Academy from 1865.[3] Also, he was elected director of theKisfaludy Society, the greatest literary association of Hungary.[4]
The early death of his daughter, Julianna in 1865 marked the beginning of Arany's hiatus as a poet. He did not write any original pieces until the summer of 1877, when he began working on his poetic cycle entitledŐszikék which is substantially different from his previous works, concerning themes like elderliness, or the imminence of death.
Arany died inBudapest on 22 October 1882.
He translated three dramas ofShakespeare into Hungarian,A Midsummer Night's Dream,Hamlet andKing John, and they are considered to be some of the greatest translations into Hungarian in history; he also helped other Hungarian translators with his comments, and translated works byAristophanes,Mikhail Lermontov,Aleksandr Pushkin, andMolière.
The epic poetry of János Arany presents the legendary and historical past of his nation.The Death of King Buda (1864), the first part of a projected Hun trilogy is one of the best narrative poems in Hungarian literature. The other parts of the trilogy (Ildikó, andPrince Csaba) are unfinished. The proposed trilogy usedArnold Ipolyi'sMagyar Mythologia as a source.[5] Arany's works have shaped the popular impression of Hungarian history (at the expense of the actual historical record).[6]
One of his most famous poems isA Walesi Bárdok (The Bards of Wales). Arany wrote this poem whenFranz Joseph I of Austria visited Hungary for the first time after defeating theHungarian Revolution of 1848. Originally Arany was asked to write a poem to praise the Emperor but he wrote a piece concerning the campaigns ofEdward I of England to subjugate the Welsh and trample over their culture.[7] Arany was drawing a parallel here with Austria's treatment of Hungary and the Hungarians.
His poemDante is one of those few verses in Western literature that can seize concisely the whole meaning and transcendency of human life (Peter Ustinov – British actor).
Some remarkable pieces of Arany's works have been translated to English byWatson Kirkconnell[8] and byEdward Dundas Butler.[9]
Arany is today considered one of the greatest Hungarian poets besideSándor Petőfi,Endre Ady,Miklós Radnóti andAttila József.
The first scientific monograph on Arany was written byFrigyes Riedl.
TheArany-album, aFolk metal album by Hungarian bandDalriada is based on popular works by Arany. It won the 2009 HangSúly Hungarian Metal Awards out of 70 contestants.[10]
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