At the End of September

What it is

'Szeptember végén' ('At the End of September') is a poem written by Sándor Petőfi, dated to Koltó in September 1847, during his honeymoon with his wife Júlia Szendrey.

Why it matters

The poem contrasts the warmth of late summer with the approach of winter as a metaphor for youth and death, and it asks whether his wife will remain faithful to his memory after he dies. Written only a few months before he became a leading voice of the 1848 revolution, it shows a more private, reflective side of Petőfi alongside his public role as a revolutionary poet.

Look closer

• What images of nature does Petőfi use to talk about aging and death, and why might these have felt powerful to readers?
• What does the poem reveal about Petőfi's feelings for his wife and his awareness of his own mortality?
• Why might a poet who later died young have written so directly about death before it happened?