Page:A history of Hungarian literature.djvu/225

 ALEXANDER PETŐ FI 211 country. The characters are ali drawn from the fountain­ head of Hungaria n life. The hero himself, a young peasant lad, a sheph erd who becomes a soldier, is a typical H ungarian. The form of the verse and the language of the poem are in entire barmony with the popular songs. The way he relates an event is precisely th e way a tale is told among the people. The miraculous element in the poem is also horrowed from the popular imagination. Petőfi did not, like Vörösmarty, laboriously explore the ancient Hungarian mythology to find his subj ects, but with the good fortune of genius, grasped ·the treasures which lay stored up and ready to hand in the p opular fairy tales. The poem is exactly like a fable told by the people, but with the superior and conscious art of a good story-teller. The hero is a brave, honest, and dignified young peasant lad, a shepherd, in whose manly breast there dwel ls a tender heart. He loves with all his soul a littie orphan peasant girl, Iluska. Once when they meet in the fields and speak words of comfort to one another (for they both lead a rather hard life at home), János forgets to look after his flock, and the sheep go astray. His master's anger knows no bounds and he is dismissed from his service. Th e lad knows that he has deserved this, but his grief is very great, for he has to leave Iluska, who suffers much at the bands of her beartless step-mother. I n the course of the wanderings of J ános, one adventure follows another. First he is attacked in the dark forest by highwaymen, but they are so struck by his calm, un­ flinching courage (alas l he is not carefui of his life now, once he has lost his happiness) that they tell bim he must joi n them, as he is cut out for a highwayman. During the night, however, he leaves them secretly, sets fire to the house, and although aU the treasures of the sleeping high-