The directory «Plots»

Verseghy Ferenc
(1757—1822)

Ferenc Verseghy was Hungarian poet and one of the Hungarian Jacobins, who spent almost nine years in prison. He was not a writer of radical revolutionary thoughts. His most radical act was the translation of the Marseillaise, the popular song of the French Revolution, yet he was sentenced to death in the first, overzealous moments of the Jacobin trials. Of humble origin, he chose, like many of his contemporaries, the only opportunity for higher education – he became a Pauline monk. His poetry revealed the influence of Faludi, his attitude as a priest showed him to be a passionate believer in the ideas of the Enlightenment. In prison, he worked with undaunted spirit; his main inspiration came from Sterne and Herder. After his return to the literary scene he became involved in the fierce controversies around the spelling reform, a cardinal issue of the renewal of the language. A prolific writer, besides writing poetry he tried his hand at writing novels and aesthetic studies.

Hungary, 1982, Ferenc Verseghy