József Katona
Encyclopedia
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, creator of the Hungarian drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
: author of the legendary historical tragedy: Bánk bán
Bánk bán
Bánk bán is an opera in 3 Acts by composer Ferenc Erkel. The work uses a Hungarian language libretto by Béni Egressy which is based on a stage play of the same name by József Katona. The main storyline is based on the assassination of Queen Gertrúd, wife of Andrew II in 1213...
.
Biography
József Katona studied at the University of Pest as a lawyer, and at the same time, he took part in theatrical life of the capital: he was an actorActor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, he wrote several plays, and he also translated and adapted German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
tic works for the Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
stage. He hopelessly loved the leading Hungarian actress, Mme. Déry, but she never recognized this love.
József Katona wrote Bánk bán, his most important drama for a literary competition organized by a Kolozsvár periodical in 1815. The competition required a historical drama with a Hungarian background. The result of the competition was disappointment for Katona: his Bánk Bán was not mentioned at all. He rewrote the play and published it privately in 1820, but it remained unnoticed until the mid-1830s. He returned to his native town Kecskemet. In the last ten years of his life, he wrote no more for the stage. Katona died on April 16, 1830, of a heart-attack in front of his office.
Works
- Aubigny Clementina, 1813
- Ziska, 1813
- Jeruzsálem pusztulása, 1814
- A rózsa, vagy a tapasztalatlan légy a pókok között, 1814
- Bánk bán (Hungarian text), 1815; final version, 1819
Bánk bán
Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II the Jerosolimitan was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was the younger son of King Béla III of Hungary, who invested him with the government of the Principality of Halych...
(1205–35), while the King was away on his foreign campaigns. Bánk became involved in a conspiracy against the German-born wife of the king; he tries to prevent the rebellion, but finally he is the man who kills the queen. The reason for his murdering was political and personal at the same time: Queen Gertrude took part in a plot, the result of which was the seduction of Bánk’s wife. Bánk's complex character and the deep conflict between the duty and the personal grief make Bánk bán one of the best Hungarian dramas. It was written at the time when the intellectuals of the country opposed Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
absolutism
Absolutism (European history)
Absolutism or The Age of Absolutism is a historiographical term used to describe a form of monarchical power that is unrestrained by all other institutions, such as churches, legislatures, or social elites...
, and the drama is about mediaeval times when Hungary’s nobility fought against foreign usurpers as well, so the drama had been blacklisted by the government. In 1848 in the evening of March 15, the Hungarian National Theater scheduled a performance of Bánk Bán. It was a symbolic event, part of the Hungarian revolution.
See also
- Bánk bánBánk bánBánk bán is an opera in 3 Acts by composer Ferenc Erkel. The work uses a Hungarian language libretto by Béni Egressy which is based on a stage play of the same name by József Katona. The main storyline is based on the assassination of Queen Gertrúd, wife of Andrew II in 1213...
, opera by Ferenc Erkel - Bánk Bán (film)Bánk Bán (film)Bánk Bán is a 1914 silent Austro-Hungarian film directed by Michael Curtiz.-Cast:* Mihály Fekete* Jenő Janovics - Biberach* Mari Jászai* István Szentgyörgyi* Victor Varconi -...
, a 1914 film by Michael CurtizMichael CurtizMichael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...