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 William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

s" – he wrote more than 102 ballads that have been translated into over 50 languages, as well as the '' Toldi trilogy.''

Biography

He was born in Nagyszalonta, Bihar County, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire. He was the youngest of ten children, but because of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

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 in Hungarian and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. 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 the Reformed College of

Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...

where he studied German and French, though he quickly became tired of scholarly life, and temporarily joined an acting troupe. Later on, he worked in Nagyszalonta,

, and

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

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, and , who also became a poet and a collector of Hungarian folktales. In 1847, he won the competition of the Kisfaludy Society (Kisfaludy Társaság) with his writing, "''Az elveszett alkotmány''" ("''The lost constitution''" in English). After '' Toldi'', one of his most famous works, was published, he and

Sándor Petőfi Sándor Petőfi ( []; né Petrovics; ; ; 1 January 1823 – most likely 31 July 1849) was a Hungarian poet and Classical Liberalism, liberal revolutionary. He is considered Hungary's national poet, and was one of the key figures of the Hungari ...

became close friends. Petőfi's death in the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

had a great impact on him. He was employed as a teacher in

Nagykőrös Nagykőrös is a town in Pest County, Hungary. János Arany taught there from about 1851, and a local museum is named for him. Notable people *Szabolcs Czira (b. 1951), politician *Frigyes Hegedűs (1920–2008), pentathlete *István Kecskés (b ...

where the local museum is named after him. Arany was elected a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, MTA for short) in 1858. He was the secretary-general of the Academy from 1865. Also, he was elected director of the Kisfaludy Society, the greatest literary association of Hungary. 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 entitled ''Őszikék'' which is substantially different from his previous works, concerning themes like elderliness, or the imminence of death. Arany died in

on 22 October 1882.

Works

He translated three dramas of

into Hungarian, ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'', ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' and '' King 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 by

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov ( , ; rus, Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, , mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjʉrʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲerməntəf, links=yes; – ) was a Russian Romanticism, Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called ...

, Aleksandr Pushkin, and

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

. 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'', and ''Prince Csaba'') are unfinished. The proposed trilogy used Arnold Ipolyi's ''Magyar Mythologia'' as a source. Arany's works have shaped the popular impression of Hungarian history (at the expense of the actual historical record). One of his most famous poems is ''A Walesi Bárdok'' ( The Bards of Wales). Arany wrote this poem when Franz Joseph I of Austria visited Hungary for the first time after defeating the

. Originally Arany was asked to write a poem to praise the Emperor but he wrote a piece concerning the campaigns of

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

to subjugate the Welsh and trample over their culture. Arany was drawing a parallel here with Austria's treatment of Hungary and the Hungarians. His poem ''Dante'' 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 by Watson Kirkconnell and by Edward Dundas Butler. Arany is today considered one of the greatest Hungarian poets beside

, Endre Ady, Miklós Radnóti and Attila József.

Legacy

The first scientific monograph on Arany was written by Frigyes Riedl. The '' Arany-album'', a

Folk metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for example ...

album by Hungarian band Dalriada is based on popular works by Arany. It won the 2009 HangSúly Hungarian Metal Awards out of 70 contestants. * A postage stamp was issued on 1 July 1932 to honor Arany. * On 15 September 1957 another postage stamp was issued. * On 10 July 2017 a souvenir sheet of four stamps was issued.colnect.com/en/stamps/stamp/739922-200th_Anniversary_of_Birth_of_Author_Arany_János-Hungary

Poems in English translation

* ''Dante'' * ''The Legend of the Miraculous Hind'' or ''The Legend of the Wondrous Hunt'' * ''Years, O Years That Are Still to Come'' * ''I Lay Down the Lyre'' * ''In Autumn'' * ''Retrospect'' * ''Memorials'' * '' The Bards of Wales'' ''(A Walesi Bárdok)'' * ''On the Slope'' * ''Family Circle'' ''(Családi Kör)'' * ''The Nightingale'' * ''Reply to Petőfi'' ''(Válasz Petőfinek)'' * ''The Mother of King Matthias'' * ''The Two Pages of Szondi'' ''(Szondi Két Apródja)'' * ''Duel at Midnight'' * ''Bier-right or Ordeal by Blood'' * ''Becky Scarlet'' * ''Corn Husking'' * ''Annie with Golden Hair'' * ''The Seamstress Girls'' * ''Consecration of the Bridge'' * ''Mistress Aggie'' / ''Mistress Agnes'' * ''Imprisoned Souls''

References

External links

* * *
The Bards of Wales – translated by
Watson Kirkconnell
The Bards of Wales
– translated by Bernard Adams *
Epics of the Hungarian Plain
''Death of Buda, Toldi, Toldi’s Love, Toldi’s Eve'' translated in prose by Anton N. Nyerges
''The Legend of the Wondrous Hunt''
(ballad by János Arany) with miscellaneous pieces by Alexander Petőfi, John Vajda, Gregory Czuczor, Alois Szentmiklóssy, and Caspar Bernát, as well as folk songs, Hungarian poems and fables * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arany, Janos 1817 births 1882 deaths People from Salonta Epic poets Poets from the Austrian Empire Hungarian translators Members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences People of the Revolutions of 1848 Burials at Kerepesi Cemetery University of Debrecen alumni 19th-century translators Poets from Austria-Hungary 19th-century Hungarian male writers Translators of William Shakespeare English–Hungarian translators