“The echo of the past are still whispering there…”

Sándor Petőfi’s and Imre Madách’s Fairy Dream

Abstract

The present study sets out to examine the poem and the dramatic fragment of the same title, Tündérálom (Fairy Dream) by Sándor Petőfi and Imre Madách, respectively. The two authors are usually discussed together because of their common birth anniversary. The study argues, on the one hand, that by taking into account the poetic influences, more significant parallels become visible, which also give us an insight into Madách’s creative method. On the other hand, an examination of Madách’s last, fragmentary work and essays (Eszmék Léliáról; Az aesthetika és társadalom viszonyos befolyása [Reflections on Lélia; The Combined Impact of Aesthetics and Society]) also reveals the vestiges of his poetic conception – after The Tragedy of Man – which remained in torso.