Calvin Synod Herald, 1977 (77. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1977-09-01 / 9-10. szám
REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA 3 ENDRE ADY — A HUNGARIAN POET 1877-1919 Ady statue in Cleveland, Ohio Endre Ady was primarily a lyric poet. In so far as he was a genuine creator, he must be considered a universalist. But to write in a language rarely read or spoken by foreigners was a great disadvantage. It intensified his power of verbal and emotional resistance, but it could not be really effective from an international point of view, because translations of lyricpoems, with some exceptions, seldom do justice to the original, despite good intentions. The translations of Watson Kirkconnell, the Canadian scholar, are fragmentary though understanding survivals of Ady’s genius in English. In fairness to the Canadian translator it should be stated that there is such a difference between the inner music of the English and Hungarian tongues that, by the very nature of the translator’s task, certain obstacles seem insurmountable. The French, German, Swedish, Finnish, Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, etc., translations should be considered experiments. The context of poetry is a small part of a poet’s work, and most translations lack the total tone of Ady’s poems. If Ady were but the embodiment of Western European poetic symbolism transplanted into Hungary, he would only signify newness in relationship to Hungarian literature. Hungary had great poets in the past, but previous to Ady there was no poet who found and suggested so much delight in verbal shades as this descendant of small landowners and Calvinistic ministers. He was a challenge to the poetic conservatism of his predecessors. He had qualities which overcame the limits of an isolated tongue and showed in proper perspective the paradox of a somewhat belated poetic symbolism. In examining Ady’s personality and poetry, of course, one cannot and should not ignore the fact that much of his weariness as a source of poetry had its counterpart in the poetic temper of Western Europe. This kinship of poetic sensibility ought not to be criticized as it might confuse the issue of the poet’s uniqueness. Though Alexander Pushkin wrote in Russian, his relationship to Western European romanticism did not detract from his stature as a poet. Giacomo Leopardi’s pessimism offered parallel counterparts in other European countries; it was the depth of his poetry and his sense of form that placed him in the first rank of Italian poets. Whatever is obvious in Ady’s creative manner is indicative that Hungarian poetic expression can take certain forms of the West against traditional poetic conventionalities. But Ady was much more than an imitator of Western European symbolists. He was an indigenous poet in his own right. For a long time in his native land his status as a poet was ambiguous. The views of his countrymen varied. Ignotus, the courageous literary editor, emphasized the originality of his imagination, rich in unexpected associative references. Aladár Schcipflin, the critic and personal friend of the poet, saw in him a powerful expression of Hungary’s tragic fate. Sándor Makkai, professor at the University of Debrecen and a writer of historical novels and religious tracts, ascertained that Ady was Hungary’s most outstanding metaphysical poet. Dezső Kosztolányi, a noted Hungarian poet and critic, accused Ady of exhibitionism, although he valued his ability. Géza Féja, a writer interested in peasant problems, considered Ady Hungary’s paramount ethical poet. Ady’s “moral” enemies said that he was not a true citizen of the nation, but a dissipated poetic agent of unethical moods. Eventually he was acclaimed as an authentic poet. His former enemies, not necessarily competent critics of poetry, arc; either dead or, if living, have silenced their prejudices. Ady died at the time of the Károlyi revolution.
