Poems of Alexander Petofi Love and Liberty: European XIX. century poetry (Hungarian poets Book 2)
(Sándor Pet?fi (born as Petrovics, Hungarian: Pet?fi Sándo...)
Sándor Pet?fi (born as Petrovics, Hungarian: Pet?fi Sándor; pronounced ?p?tø?fi ??a?ndor ; Slovak: Alexander Petrovi? Serbian: ?????????? ????????; was a Hungarian poet and liberal revolutionary. He is considered as Hungary's national poet and he was one of the key figures of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. He is the author of the "Nemzeti dal" (National Poem), the poem said to have inspired the revolution in the Kingdom of Hungary that grew into a war for independence from the Austrian Empire. It is most likely that he died in the Battle of Segesvár, one of the last battles of the war.
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848
Among the various young leaders of the revolution, called Márciusi Ifjak (Youths of March), Pet?fi was the key in starting the revolution in Pest. He was co-author and author, respectively, of the two most important written documents: the 12 Pont (12 Points, demands to the Habsburg Governor-General) and the "Nemzeti Dal", his revolutionary poem.
When the news of the revolution in Vienna reached them on the 15th, Pet?fi and his friends decided to change the date of the "National Assembly" (a rally where a petition to the Hungarian noblemen's assembly would be approved by the people), from 19 March to the 15th. On the morning of the 15th, Pet?fi and the revolutionaries began to march around the city of Pest, reading his poem and the "12 Points" to the growing crowd, which attracted thousands. Visiting printers, they declared an end to censorship and printed the poem and "12 Points".
Crowds forced the mayor to sign the "12 Points" and later held a mass demonstration in front of the newly built National Museum, then crossed to Buda on the other bank of the Danube. When the crowd rallied in front of the Imperial governing council, the representatives of Emperor Ferdinand felt they had to sign the "12 Points". As one of the points was freedom for political prisoners, the crowd moved to greet the newly freed revolutionary poet Mihály Táncsics.
Pet?fi's popularity waned as the memory of the glorious day faded, and the revolution went the way of high politics: to the leadership of the nobles. Those in the noblemen's Assembly in Pozsony, (today Bratislava) had been pushing for slower reforms at the same time, which they delivered to the Emperor on the 13th, but events had overtaken them briefly. Pet?fi disagreed with the Assembly, and criticised their view of the goals and methods of the Revolution. (His colleague Táncsics was imprisoned again by the new government.) In the general election, Pet?fi ran in his native area, but did not win a seat. At this time, he wrote his most serious poem, Az Apostol (The Apostle). It was an epic about a fictional revolutionary who, after much suffering, attempts, but fails, to assassinate a fictitious king.
Pet?fi joined Polish Liberal General Józef Bem's "Transylvanian army", which initially was successful against Habsburg troops, Hungarian, Romanian and Transylvanian Saxon militias. After Tsar Nicholas I of Russia intervened to restore the Hapsburgs, the Transylvanians were repeated defeated. Last seen alive in the battle of Segesvár on 31 July 1849.
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