Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1993. [Vol. 1.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 21)

STUDIES - Lehel Vadon: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in Hungary

special production.

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1 Two articles were published for the occasion as well. The tone of János Viktor's article in Könyvbarát reflected the value systems of the indoctrinate 1950's as he ranked Longfellow among those who "had turned to the humanistic tradition of European culture to seek an antidote for the perceptibly oppressive inhumanity of the first boom period of American capitalism."

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2 The fact that Longfellow along with Poe approached European standards and paved the way for the first "true-blue" American poet, Walt Whitman, was Longfellow's greatest achievement. In Tibor Lutter's carefully researched study which appeared in Magyar Tudomány the author emphathized with the plight of Longfellow who despite being born in a period when the flames of the romantic movement were about to subside, viewed the bicontinental advance of the latter as his greatest formative experience. Lutter wrote: "He was a wrong man in the wrong time as had he been born a half generation earlier his genius could have achieved the white fiery passion of romanticism and he only preceded Whitman's celebration of America's blossoming into adulthood by a school generation."

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3 Longfellow, the poet of the "golden mean" fulfilled the requirements established by János Arany's Ars Poetica demonstrated by his sophistication, humanity, and well crafted elegant style. "He was the poet who under the peculiar climate of his time clad in the fading robe of romanticism undertook an arduous, productive effort especially invaluable in the promotion of national culture." Lutter considered Longfellow's consistent realization of his artistic goals

—an elegant European influenced American style

—the poet's most significant achievement and greatest asset. He defended Longfellow's intergrity from charges of plagiarism as he declared his work "a refined masterpiece of English literature, which, while rooted in American soil, met the lofty standards of European elegance." Lutter argued that Longfellow's poetry had shaped the American nation and culture during the period of the revival of the romantic movement making it a significant element of world literature. 2

1 A. G., "Longfellow est," Film Színház Muzsika, 3 (1957): p. 5. 2

2 (János Viktor), "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow," Könyvbarát, 3 (1957): pp. 26—27. 2

3 Tibor Lutter, "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow," Magyar Tudomány, 5—6 (1957): pp. 169—174. 135