Mihály Vörösmarty

Mihály Vörösmarty (archaically English: Michael Vorosmarthy; 1 December 180019 November 1855) was a Hungarian poet and dramatist who lived and worked in the Kingdom of Hungary.

Biography

He was born at Puszta-Nyék (now Kápolnásnyék), of a noble Roman Catholic family. His father was a steward of the Nádasdys. Mihály was educated at Székesfehérvár by the Cistercians and at Pest by the Piarists. The death of the elder Vörösmarty in 1817 left his widow and numerous family in poverty. As a tutor to the Perczel family, however, Vörösmarty contrived to pay his own way and go through his academic course at Pest.

The activities of the Diet of 1825 enkindled his patriotism and gave a new direction to his poetry. He had already begun a drama, Salomon. He flung himself into public life and fell in love with Etelka Perczel, who was from a higher social class. Many of his lyrics concern this unrequited love. Meanwhile, his patriotism found expression in the heroic epic Zalán futása (The Flight of Zalán, 1824), which, while dealing with the Hungarian past, also dealt with contemporary political concerns. This new epic marked a transition from the classical to the romantic school. Vörösmarty was hailed by Károly Kisfaludy and the Hungarian romanticists as one of their own. He had forsaken the law for literature, and his financial situation deteriorated. Between 1823-31, he composed four dramas and eight smaller epics, partly historical, partly fanciful. Of these epics he always regarded Cserhalom (1825) as the best, but later criticism preferred A két szomszédvár (Two Neighbouring Castles, 1831). Mihály Vörösmarty stamp was issued by Hungary on 5 May 1937 showing his portrait. Another stamp was issued by Hungary on 28 July 1955 in the Poets series.