Janos Arany Outstanding Hungarian poet. Date of Birth: 02.03.1817 Country: Hungary

Biography of János Arany

János Arany was an outstanding Hungarian poet born into a Calvinist family from a declining minor nobility. He was proficient in Latin, French, German, and English. Arany worked as a teacher, traveling actor, and notary. His first literary success came in 1846 when his first poetic work, "The Lost Constitution" (Elveszett alkotmány) was published. In the same year, he completed his most famous poem, "Toldi," for which he was awarded the Kiskunság Society Prize. "Toldi," dedicated to a national hero of Hungary, contributed to the growth of national consciousness in the country.

During the revolution of 1848-1849, Arany, along with his friend Sándor Petőfi, wrote several patriotic poems and ballads. After the revolution was crushed, Arany was forced to hide for some time. Upon his return to Budapest, he was honored with the Nadádhy Academic Prize in 1867 for his historical poem about the Huns, "The Death of Buda" (Buda halála). Later, he was elected as the lifelong secretary of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Since 1860, Arany led the Kiskunság Society and founded the literary journal "Szépirodalmi Figyelő," which became an important literary critical publication in Hungary. He participated in the translation of Shakespeare's works into Hungarian. By 1877, Arany had withdrawn from public life and mainly wrote lyrical or epic works. The second part of the Toldi trilogy, "The Evening of Toldi," was published in 1854, followed by "The Love of Toldi" in 1879.

Arany translated three of Shakespeare's plays into Hungarian: "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Hamlet," and "King John," which became the best translations into the Hungarian language. He also assisted other Hungarian translators with his comments and translated works by Aristophanes, Mikhail Lermontov, Alexander Pushkin, and Molière.

Arany was laid to rest at the Kerepesi Cemetery in Budapest. A monument to János Arany is located at the entrance of the Hungarian National Museum. His son, László Arany, also became a poet.