Reform and Petőfi

Hungarian Literature

Course 1 · Chapter 3 · Language Reform & the Age of Petőfi

In the decades around 1800 a group of writers set out to modernise Hungarian so that it could serve in poetry, drama, science and politics, at a time when German and Latin still dominated public life in the kingdom. The reform led to the great poets of the nineteenth century and to the revolution of 1848, in which one of them, Sándor Petőfi, became a national hero. This chapter follows the reform, the anthem, the national drama and Petőfi, and asks how literature and politics became so closely tied. Names and dates are from general knowledge and flagged "check".

The Language Reform

Kazinczy

Ferenc Kazinczy (1759 to 1831) was the leading figure of the reform. He translated, edited and corresponded widely, and he promoted new words and a refined literary style. He was imprisoned for several years for involvement in a Jacobin conspiracy in the 1790s (check).

New words

Reformers coined or revived thousands of words and adapted older ones, for science, politics and everyday modern life. Some of their creations are still in use (check examples and the scale of the figures).

The quarrel

Traditionalists accused the reformers of artificiality, and the "orthological" quarrel over correct usage lasted years (check). The result was a language fit for modern writing and a literary culture with its own institutions, such as the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1825; check).

Kölcsey, Vörösmarty and Katona

Writer and work (check each)Note
Ferenc Kölcsey, Himnusz (1823)A national prayer in verse, "God, bless the Hungarians", begun in 1823 and set to music by Erkel in 1844 as the national anthem (see Hungarian Music 3).
Mihály Vörösmarty, Szózat (1836)A patriotic poem, often called the second national anthem, which urges loyalty to the homeland. His long epic Zalán futása (1825) made his name.
József Katona, Bánk bán (1819)A tragedy about a medieval nobleman who kills the queen's foreign favourite, often called the Hungarian national drama; it was banned or neglected at first and then became central to the repertoire. Erkel made it into an opera (check the dates).
  • The anthem as poem. The words are sombre and prayerful and look back over a long history of disaster, which surprises many foreign listeners (check the content). The anthem is a poem, not a victory song.
  • Themes. The writers of this period ask what the nation is, what it owes its past and how it can survive among larger powers.
  • Institutions. A national theatre, an academy and literary magazines gave the literature a base (check).

Petőfi

The poet of 1848 Sándor Petőfi (1823 to 1849) wrote plainly, in the speech of ordinary people, and about love, nature, freedom and the common man. He wrote the verse "Nemzeti dal" (National Song), read out on 15 March 1848 as the revolution began in Pest, and joined the army in the war of independence against Habsburg rule. He is believed to have died in the battle of Segesvár in July 1849, though his body was never found and the circumstances have been debated (check all dates and details). His short life and his death made him the most revered Hungarian poet.
  • The style. Folk-song forms, direct language, humour and love poems for his wife Júlia Szendrey. His long narrative poem János vitéz (John the Valiant, 1845), a folk-tale adventure, is widely read, and was adapted as an animated film and a musical (check; see Hungarian Animation & Children's Television).
  • Politics. He was a radical republican and democrat, more extreme than many of the revolution's leaders, and tensions with them are part of his story (check).
  • The cult. Streets, statues and the national holiday on 15 March keep his memory alive. The memory has been used by many parties, from nationalists to communists to democrats, each emphasising different parts of his work (check).
  • The aftermath. The revolution and war were defeated in 1849 with Russian help, followed by repression and then the Compromise of 1867 (check; see Hungarian Music 3).
A British comparison Compare Burns in Scotland, who also wrote in the language of ordinary people and became a national symbol, and the way Byron's death in the Greek war of independence made him a romantic figure of liberty (check the comparisons). Petőfi combines both: a voice of the people and a poet who died in a national cause.
Check the details Dates, the fate of Petőfi and the lives of the reformers are from general knowledge, and popular accounts of 1848 are heavily mythologised. Verify against a modern history and the Petőfi Literary Museum before relying on them.

Exercises

Exercise 1

Explain what the language reform tried to do, why it was controversial and what it achieved.

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Exercise 2

Describe why the Himnusz is a poem of lament as well as hope, and what that suggests about how Hungarians saw their history.

→ Solution
Exercise 3

Write a short, balanced paragraph on how Petőfi became a national symbol, separating documented facts from legend.

→ Solution

Quick Reference

  • Reform: Kazinczy and new words; the Academy of 1825 (check)
  • National texts: Himnusz (1823), Szózat (1836), Bánk bán (1819) (check)
  • Petőfi: 1823 to 1849; "Nemzeti dal" on 15 March 1848; János vitéz (check)
  • Context: the 1848 revolution, defeated in 1849 (check)
  • The caution: the national poet's image has been used by many causes