Sándor Pet?fi

Sándor Pet?fi (1823 - 1849) was a Hungarian national poet and a key figure in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848.

Related Topics:
1823 - 1849 - Hungarian - Poet

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Pet?fi was born on january 1, 1823 in Kisk?rös as Alexander Petrovics, Austria-Hungary. His father was István Petrovics whose native language was Hungarian (though he was of Serbian descent), his mother was Mária Hrúzová whose native language was Slovak. Within two years the family had moved to Kiskunfélegyháza and Pet?fi considered the city as his true birthplace. His father tried to give his son the best education possible, but when Sándor was 15 they lost their money due to the flood of Danube of 1838 and the bankruptcy of a relative. Sándor had to leave the Selmeci Líceum (the school he attended in Selmecbánya, now Banská ?tiavnica, Slovakia). He did small works for theatres in Pest, was a teacher in Ostffyasszonyfa and a soldier in Sopron.

Related Topics:
January 1 - 1823 - Austria-Hungary - Hungarian - Serbian - Slovak - Kiskunfélegyháza - Danube - 1838 - Banská ?tiavnica - Slovakia - Pest - Sopron

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After a restless period of travelling Pet?fi attended the college of Pápa, where he first met Mór Jókai, and after a year, in 1842 his poem (A borozó, the pub) was first published in Athenaeum under the name "Sándor Petrovics". On November 3 of the same year he published this poem under the name "Pet?fi" for the first time.

Related Topics:
Pápa - Mór Jókai - 1842 - November 3

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However, Pet?fi was more interested in theatre. In 1842 he joined a travelling theatre, but had to abandon it. He tried to keep himself financially afloat by writing copies of a newspaper, but that wasn't enough. Malnourished and sick, he arrived in Debrecen, where his friends helped him back on his feet.

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In 1844 he walked from Debrecen to Pest to find a publisher for his poems, in which he succeeded this time, and the poems were becoming increasingly popular. He used folklore elements and popular, traditional song-like verses heavily. Among his longer works is the epic János Vitéz (1845, in English: John the Valiant, ISBN 1843910845). On the other hand, he felt he is constrained to a folkish, wine-and-pubs, low-quality niche by his publisher, while in truth he also had extensive Western-oriented education and revolutionary passions to write about (which he would have had difficulty to publish anyway, as there was strong censorship at the time).

Related Topics:
Debrecen - Pest

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In 1846 he met Júlia Szendrey in Transylvania (Erdély), and they married the next year despite the will of her father, and spent their honeymoon in the castle of Sándor Teleki, the only aristocrat amongst the friends of Pet?fi. Afterwards, he was ever more possessed by the thought of a global revolution. He moved to Pest, and joined a group of like-minded students and intellectuals who regularly met at Café Pilvax.

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