János sankari

by Sándor Petőfi, Otto Manninen (Translator)

Nakkelee hänt’ aallot kohti taivaan napaa,
harjoin pilven reunan ripsuihin jo tapaa;
János sankaripa nopeasti noihin
kiinni kimmertäytyi pilven hetuloihin.

Kaksin käsin kiinni tarttui tanakasti,
siinä pinnistellen riippui siihen asti,
kunnes kulki pilvi meren rantamalle,
hänet kalliolle kantoi korkealle.

Sándor Petőfi: János sankari
Suomentanut Otto Manninen
WSOY 1926, 104 s.
Unkarinkielinen alkuteos János vitéz 1845

Genres: Poetry, Hungarian Literature, Classics, Fiction, School, Fantasy, Hungary

104 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1844

About the author

People best know Hungarian lyric poet and revolutionary hero Sándor Petöfi, originally Sándor Petrovics, for his patriotic songs and the epic poem Janos the Hero (1845).

This key national of Serb and Slovak descent figured in the Hungarian revolution of 1848.

Petőfi started his career as a poet with "popular situation songs," to which his first published poem, A borozó ("The Winery", 1842), belongs. This song of a drinker praises the healing power of wine to drive away all troubles. Despite this not unusual kind of pseudo-folk song in Hungarian poetry of the 1840s, Petőfi quickly developed an original and fresh voice, which made him stand. He wrote many poems like folk song on the subjects of wine, love, romantic robbers et cetera. The love poem A virágnak megtiltani nem lehet ("You Cannot Forbid the Flower", 1843) exemplifies many of these classic early poems, and Befordultam a konyhára ("I Turned into the Kitchen", 1843) uses the ancient metaphor of love and fire in a playful and somewhat provocative way.

Folk poetry and 19th-century populism very significant influenced work of Petőfi' despite other also present influences: familiar with the works of major literary figures of his day, including Percy Bysshe Shelley, Pierre-Jean de Béranger and Heinrich Heine, Petőfi drew on sources, such as topoi of contemporary almanac-poetry, in an inventive way.

Reviews

[Kaylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has got to be among the most beautiful things I have ever read.

I liked the story, and I liked the poet's great imagination and creativity. He seems to be a bottomless well of ideas; it reminded me a bit of The Neverending Story in that respect. Great sense of humor, too. I liked the part where they are so high up on the mountain that the horses trip over stars. There were many fun parts like that. At other times, it is deeply touching - the despair János feels during his exile, the story of his and Iluska's childhood, and especially the parts that speak about their love for each other. And throughout all of it, the poetry is unspeakably beautiful. I was in awe of the poet's skill from beginning to end.

I don't know if the English translation is any good (couldn't find a copy), I can only comment on the original, which is online here: https://archive.org/stream/jnosvitz00...

Personal notes
This was my first attempt to read a full book (albeit a short one) in Hungarian. I understood more than I expected, but still made frequent use of the dictionary. Actually, I think that my tenuous grasp of the language is an advantage when it comes to reading older works (János Vitéz was written in 1844); the words are familiar enough that I'll catch the meaning, but unfamiliar enough that I don't notice the discrepancies between the old and the modern dialects, so the archaic spelling and mode of expression don't sound odd to me.

Interesting or confounding vocab:

petrencés rúd - http://mek.oszk.hu/02100/02115/html/4...
https://24.p3k.hu/app/uploads/2015/10...
(In case my English-speaking friends are curious, a petrence is a medium-sized hay bale, which two people can carry on two rods between them. In the story, János made his step-father angry, and he chased him with one of these rods.)

"farkasszemet nézni" - to stare down or face down someone/something; lit. "to stare with wolf eyes" (give someone/something a wolf stare?) - I love this expression.

mente - an article of clothing that's part of a soldier's uniform...maybe the jacket? Couldn't figure this one out.

nyoszolya - some kind of bed? context seems to indicate a bed of flowers. Not in the dictionary.

Also, I think Iluska is such a pretty name. I'm not sure why it became 'Nelly' in the English translation (according to goodreads).

[Tyler McGaughey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really fantastic, in both senses of the word, piece of narrative poetry, and honestly, maybe the most purely enjoyable poem I've ever read. Petofi's rough and inventive rhymes come across very well in the translation. It has the authentic, earned, elemental blend of humor, adventure, and fantasy that seems to exist only in myth. I especially enjoyed the passage describing the hussars' journey over the mountains, so high that they could wring water from the clouds and the horses tripped over the stars.

[Csoppy · Rating 2 out of 5]

persze csak az iskolából (nem) emlékeztem rá, leginkább arra, hogy minek kellett megtanulni az első nemtomhány versszakot – de igazából, bármennyire is cukin olvasta fel a Törőcsik Mari, verstanilag azért elég kellemetlen, folyamatosan döcög, néha olyan általános iskolás rímek lepnek meg, amik már valszeg akkor is cikik voltak, és hát népmese ide vagy oda, azért durva, h az ötödikesek olvassák a 16, de inkább 18+-os részleteket.

A kő úgy a király homlokához koppant,
Hogy az agyveleje azonnal kiloccsant.
„Igy híj meg máskor is kőszikla-ebédre,”
Szólt s kacagott János „ráforrt a gégédre!”

[Stephanie Molnar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful ending. It really is a fairy tale and I would like to see a nice, illustrated edition for children.

[Jandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit that I wouldn't have read this Hungarian epic if I hadn't had John Ridland as my college advisor from 1998-2000. He was the translator of this edition and published it at the time he served as my mentor. It's a glorious book. It's not quite a fairy tale, but has many elements of one. It won't give you the best geography lessons, but I can imagine it being a good bedtime story read one night at a time.

[Klára · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tündérországban csak híre sincs a télnek,
Ott örökös tavasz pompájában élnek;
S nincsen ott nap kelte, nap lenyugovása,
Örökös hajnalnak játszik pirossága.

Benne tündérfiak és tündérleányok
Halált nem ismerve élnek boldogságnak;
Nem szükséges nekik sem étel, sem ital,
Élnek a szerelem édes csókjaival.

[Panna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Előszöris földrajz egyes! Azt aztán nem taníthattak abban a korban.

Másszor lehet megkellet volna kisiskolás koromnak hagyni ezt a verset.

Jó volt, szép volt meg aztán fura is volt.

Most is megállja a helyét és teljesen megértem mért volt érte mindenki oda.

Esküszöm el fogok kezdeni rímekben beszélnie emiatt a költemény miatt.

[Góczán Judit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Még ma is megvan lemezen. Gyerekkoromban napokig hallgattam újra meg újra. Hihetetlen volt, hogy egy hang hogyan személyesít meg ennyi figurát. Olvasni is hasonló élmény volt – szinte sodortak a rímek.

[Quia · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★½

"O sol de verão brilha ardentemente
do alto do céu sobre o velo do pastor.
Não adianta assar tanto,
O pastor tem muito calor mesmo"

Embora bem escrito, não é lá uma das melhores histórias, a boa escrita carrega; porém, ainda é um bom poema épico

[ნინო ქერდიყოშვილი · Rating 4 out of 5]

შეიძლება ითქვას, რომ პეტეფის სიზმარ-ზღაპარია და უფრო მეტად ავსებს მის პიროვნებაზე ჩემს წარმოდგენას.

[Lina · Rating 5 out of 5]

nekem tetszett már 5.-ben is lol

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Köszönöm, jól vagyok.

[Petra Tandari - Danyi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gyerekkorom kedvence ❤️

[Adrian Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

My take on translating poetry is that of Dr Johnson's on dogs walking on their hind legs: it's not done well, but I'm surprised is it done at all. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this tale in verse. The translator used a rolling metre that was enjoyable to read out loud - until I hit a sight rhyme - and that also helped to convey a tongue-in-cheekedness I hope is in the original. I look forward to reading it.

[Réka Szegfű · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arra hogy gyerekekkel megkedveltessük a költészetet tökéletes. Én is a János vitéz és a Toldi hatására kezdtem bele anno más verseket is olvasni.