Literary Journal 2020/4. The Tragedy of Man

Dear Reader!

The Tragedy of Man is one of the most translated and most significant internationally acclaimed works of Hungarian literature. The work seeks the ultimate answer to the dilemma of the meaning of life in man’s historical drama, to ultimately make the question itself infinite, thus opening a new dimension to the possibility and responsibility of finding the answer(s).

The aim of our compilation is to provide a cross-section of the knowledge accumulated about the work, on the one hand, and to present the defining events and tendencies of the Tragedy’s reception, on the other hand, considering for example how certain fictional elements influenced the biographical reading of the work.

We carried out discussion with literary historian Csaba Andor about managing and popularising Imre Madách's oeuvre and the publishing history of the Tragedy,  with writer and theater theorist András Visky about the dramaturgical challenges of Madách's major work and its timeliness. We asked professor of Hungarian literature and drama Imre Wenczel about the pedagogy of the Tragedy, while with literary historian Éva Bánki we seeked the answer whether the work could be read as a love story.

Literary analyses are also published regarding, among other things, the genre, historiographical approaches, philosophy, theology, medial transformations, and illustration history of the Tragedy, as well as its translations and reception in world literature.

Highlighting the most memorable line for the work, a writer, a poet, a playwright, a literary historian and a director discussed his or her thoughts on the Tragedy in a short essay.

The issue is illustrated by works of fine art related to the drama, scenes from theatre and film adaptations, and set designs.

Péter János Kondor