József Katona (11 November 1791, Kecskemét â€" 16 April 1830,
Kecskemét) was a Hungarian playwright and poet, creator of the
Hungarian historical tragedy Bánk bán.József Katona was born and
died in Kecskemét. He 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 actor, he wrote several plays, and he also translated and
adapted German melodramatic works for the Hungarian 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.The
story was about Bánk, the viceroy appointed by King Andrew II
(1205â€"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. His reason for the murder was political and personal
at the same time: Queen Gertrude had taken part in a plot to seduce
Bánk’s wife. Bánk's complex character and the deep conflict
between duty and 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 absolutism, 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.
Kecskemét) was a Hungarian playwright and poet, creator of the
Hungarian historical tragedy Bánk bán.József Katona was born and
died in Kecskemét. He 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 actor, he wrote several plays, and he also translated and
adapted German melodramatic works for the Hungarian 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.The
story was about Bánk, the viceroy appointed by King Andrew II
(1205â€"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. His reason for the murder was political and personal
at the same time: Queen Gertrude had taken part in a plot to seduce
Bánk’s wife. Bánk's complex character and the deep conflict
between duty and 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 absolutism, 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.
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