Mihály Vörösmarty

Mihály Vörösmarty (born Dec. 1, 1800, Nyék, Hung.—died Nov. 19, 1855, Pest) was a poet and dramatist who helped make the literature of Hungary truly Hungarian during the era (1825–49) of social reforms. By ridding Hungarian literature of overwhelming classical and German influence, he made it national not only in language but in spirit.

Born into an impoverished noble family, Vörösmarty soon had to provide for himself. From the age of 15 as a schoolboy, and later while studying law, he supported himself by private tutoring. In 1825 he published an epic poem, Zalán futása (“The Flight of Zalán”), describing the conquest of Hungary by Árpád. The epic has great artistic merit, but its resounding success was partly caused by the general patriotic upsurge of the period, which clamoured for a work describing the glorious past of the Hungarian nation.

In 1828 Vörösmarty became the full-time editor of a well-known magazine, the Tudományos Gyűjtemény, and he was the first Hungarian man of letters to make a living—a modest one—from literature. In 1830 he became the first member of the newly founded Hungarian Academy and produced a truly great work, Csongor és Tünde, a symbolic fairy-tale play that is reminiscent of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He married late, in 1843, and his wife, Laura Csajághy, inspired some beautiful poems, among which “A merengőhöz” (1843; “To a Day-Dreamer”) is outstanding. Having achieved fame, reasonable material comfort, and a happy marriage, Vörösmarty was in a position to look forward to a contented old age when the War of Independence (1848–49) shattered his life. An ardent partisan of Lajos Kossuth, he embraced the national cause and became a member of Parliament. During the repression that followed, Vörösmarty had to go into hiding and lived with his three children in great misery. His personal misfortune and the tribulation of his country affected his mind, and, though he was still able to produce some splendid poems, such as “Vén cigány” (1854; “The Old Gypsy”), he was unable to continue his former activity.