THE TRAGEDY OF MAN

ESSAYS ABOUT THE IDEAS AND THE DIRECTING OF
THE DRAMA

FULL TEXT OF THE DRAMA

TRANSLATED BY JOSEPH GROSZ

THE HUNGARIAN CENTRE
OF THE INTERNATIONAL THEATRE INSTITUTE (ITI)

BUDAPEST 1985

Published by the Hungarian Centre of the International Theatre Institute

Responsible editor: György Lengyel, President of the Hungarian Centre of the ITI

Selected and edited by Erzsébet Bereczky

ISBN 963 691 054 5

Printed by Hungarian Theatre Institute in 1985

POB 23, Budapest, H-1253

Foreword György Lengyel	7

A Dramatic Poem from Hungary to the Theatres of the World dr. Ferenc Kerényi	9

The New Tragedy of Man Sándor Hevesi	34

A Generation under the Spell of The Tragedy of Man dr. Antal Németh	37

“I hear, I hear the coming epoch’s song” Endre Gellért	41

An Up-to-Date Tragedy of Man Tamás Major	50

Open‑air Performances of The Tragedy of Man László Vámos	57

Two Tragedy Productions György Lengyel	61

Notes on Putting on the Tragedy József Ruszt	67

Translations of The Tragedy of Man	72

Performances of The Tragedy of Man Abroad	77

Broadcasts of The Tragedy of Man Abroad	78

Guest-performances of The Tragedy of Man of the National Hungarian Theatre in Hungarian Language	78


The Authors of the Book	79


Imre Madách: The Tragedy of Man — full text of the drama — Translated by Joseph Grosz	127

FOREWORD

If we, Hungarians were asked to choose the literary work that we consider to be the closest to us, the most expressive of our history, the most modern classic which talks about our past and present with the same power and which, I believe, will also have a message for the future; well, this work would be The Tragedy of Man.

The strange thing about it is that the play does not take place in Hungary. It is a powerful vision of the poetplaywright about mankind, beginning with the creation up to an imaginary future through episodes of the history of the world in the form of the main characters’ dreams.

If asked, I would not hesitate to say that no other play reveals so much about us to the world. For theatres and audiences throughout the world, the most easily approachable and receptible Hungarian drama would be The Tragedy of Man.

Up to now, it has been translated into 29 languages; there have been 9 different translations into English only. It has been put on the stage several times in different countries but I think the real breakthrough is going to come now.

This present volume is being published to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the first performance of the play and also to make it more widely and better known all over the world.

The book contains the thoughts and notes of the directors of the most interesting performances in the past one hundred years as well as an essay on the history of The Tragedy of Man on the stage written by eminent Madách-scholar Dr. Ferenc Kerényi. There are a lot of photographs and also a bibliography to make the book complete.

The Tragedy is about the basic questions of our life today: it presents a whole series of dramatic problems. It is a dream, a vision

about Hungarian history, about mankind, politics, love, about the controversial relationship between man and God, individual and the masses.

We have to be aware that the Tragedy was written in one of the most tragic periods of Hungarian history. And in spite of all the inner doubts and contradictions expressed in it, it is the drama of everlasting fight and of survival.

György Lengyel

SOURCE: The Tragedy of Man: Essays About the Ideas and the Directing of the Drama: Full Text of the Drama / Imre Madách, translated by Joseph Grosz, responsible editor: György Lengyel, selected and edited by Erzsébet Bereczky.

The Tragedy of Man by Imre Madách,
translated by George Szirtes
Scene 13

Imre Madách’s “The Tragedy of Man” by István Sőtér

On Hungarian Dramatic Literature

by Georg Lukács, translated by Charles Senger

Die ungarische Dramenliteratur by Georg Lukács

The Metaphysics of Tragedy: Excerpts by Georg Lukács

La Tragedio de l’ Homo: Kovrilo
de Imre Madách, tradukis Kálmán Kalocsay, bildo de Mihály Zichy (1924)

Al horizonto de la historio de la homaro — pri “La Tragedio de L’ Homo”
de SHI Chengtai

Kompara analizo de tri tradukoj el La Tragedio de l’ Homo de Márton Fejes

Futurology, Science Fiction, Utopia, and Alienation
in the Work of Imre Madách, György Lukács, and Other Hungarian Writers:
Select Bibliography

Pessimism as Philosophy: A Jaundiced Selected Annotated Bibliography

Georg Lukács’ The Destruction of Reason: Selected Bibliography