Imre Madách de Sztregova et Kelecsény (20 January 1823 – 5 October 1864) was a Hungarian aristocrat, writer, poet, lawyer and politician. His major work is ''

The Tragedy of Man ''The Tragedy of Man'' ( hu, Az ember tragédiája) is a play (theatre), play written by the Hungary, Hungarian author Imre Madách. It was first published in 1861. The play is considered to be one of the major works of Hungarian literature and ...

'' (''Az ember tragédiája'', 1861). It is a

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

tic

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

approximately 4000 lines long, which elaborates on ideas comparable to

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

's ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

'' and Milton's '' Paradise Lost''. The author was encouraged and advised by

János Arany János Arany (; archaic English: John Arany; 2 March 1817 – 22 October 1882) was a Hungarian poet, writer, translator and journalist. He is often said to be the "Shakespeare of ballads" – he wrote more than 102 ballads that have been transl ...

, one of the most famous of the 19th-century Hungarian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

Life

He was born in his family castle in Alsósztregova, the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

(today Dolná Strehová,

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

) in 1823 at the heart of a wealthy noble family. From 1829 Madách studied at the Piarist school of

Vác Vác (; german: Waitzen; sk, Vacov; yi, ווייצען) is a town in Pest county in Hungary with approximately 35,000 inhabitants. The archaic spelling of the name is ''Vácz''. Location Vác is located north of Budapest on the eastern bank o ...

. During a cholera epidemic he stayed in Buda in 1831. In 1837 he began his studies at the university of Pest. In 1842 he officially became a lawyer. In 1860 he finished working on ''The Tragedy of Man''. He died in Alsósztregova in the Kingdom of Hungary.

Works

*''A civilizátor'' (''The Civiliser'') – 1859 *''Mózes'' ('' Moses'') – 1861 *'' Az ember tragédiája'' (''The Tragedy of Man'') – 1861

''The Tragedy of Man''

The dramatic poem ''The Tragedy of Man'' is Madách's major and most enduring piece of writing. The tragic events of the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1848/49 in addition to the deaths of close family members such as his sister and her husband, captain Karl Balog de Mánko-Bük, and his temporary stay in prison fueled the emotional status in which he completed his work. Today it is the central piece of Hungarian theaters' repertoire and is mandatory reading for students in secondary school. Many lines have become common quotes in Hungary. Madách, then a country nobleman with virtually no literary experience, sent the work to the poet Arany who enthusiastically encouraged him and suggested some emendations to the text. The piece was at first only published in printed form, not staged, because the many changes of scene (15 scenes) were hard to come by through the technical standards of the day. The main characters are Adam, Eve and

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...

. The three travel through time to visit different turning-points in human history and Lucifer tries to convince Adam that life is (will be) meaningless and mankind is doomed. Adam and Lucifer are introduced at the beginning of each scene, with Adam assuming various important historical roles and Lucifer usually acting as a servant or confidant. Eve enters only later in each scene. ''The Tragedy of Man'' contains fifteen scenes, with ten historical periods represented.

Honors

A postage stamp was issued in his honor by Hungary on 1 July 1932. On 23 June 2010, ''The Tragedy of Man'' is 150 years old - Miniature Sheet issued by Hungary.colnect.com/en/stamps/stamp/269444-150_years_of_“The_Tragedy_of_Man”_by_Madách_Imre-For_Youth-Hungary

References

External links

The Tragedy of Man
(translation by

George Szirtes George Szirtes (; born 29 November 1948) is a British poet and translator from the Hungarian language into English. Originally from Hungary, he has lived in the United Kingdom for most of his life after coming to the country as a refugee at the ...

)
The Tragedy of Man
(translation by J. C. W. Horne)
The Tragedy of Man
(translation by Iain Macleod)
Tragedy of the Man
(translation by Ottó Tomschey)
Mihály Zichy's Illustrations of The Tragedy of Man

text, concordances and frequency lists {{DEFAULTSORT:Madach, Imre 1823 births 1864 deaths People from Veľký Krtíš District Hungarian male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Hungarian dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Hungarian male writers