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Primary sourceBook1911 (translation); original Hungarian earlier

The Hungarian Noble

Sándor Petőfi · 1911 (translation); original Hungarian earlier

A satirical poem by Sándor Petőfi mocking idle, indifferent Hungarian aristocrats, shown here in a 1911 English translation.

Petőfi wrote this satire attacking the idle Hungarian aristocracy he despised as a revolutionary poet.

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Source: Wikisource

About this source

What it is

This poem by Sándor Petőfi is a biting satire of Hungarian noblemen who lived in comfort while ignoring their country's problems. This English version was translated in 1911 by Nora de Vállyi and Dorothy M. Stuart.

The speaker, voicing the mindset of a lazy, self-satisfied noble, boasts of refusing to work, learn, or pay taxes, caring only for eating and drinking well.

Why it matters

The poem reveals Petőfi's deep contempt for the aristocracy's indifference to the suffering of ordinary Hungarians, a theme central to his political poetry and his role as a voice of the 1848 revolutionary movement. It shows how he used satire as a political weapon.

Look closer

  • What specific habits or attitudes of the noble does the poem mock?
  • Why might Petőfi have chosen satire rather than direct criticism to make his point?
  • How does this poem reflect the social tensions in Hungary before 1848?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Sándor Petőfi on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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