Robert Nisbet Bain

“ Tiring of the monotony of a soldier’s life, yet unwilling to sacrifice his liberty to follow commerce or enter the civil service, Kisfaludy, contrary to his father’s wishes, now threw up his commission and made his home at the house of a married sister at Vörröck, where he could follow his inclinations. In 1812 he studied painting at the Vienna academy and supported himself precariously by his brush and pencil, till the theatre at Vienna proved a still stronger attraction. ”

“ Six years later the great literary society of Hungary, the Kisfaludy Társaság, was founded to commemorate his genius. Apart from his own works it is the supreme merit of Kisfaludy to have revived and nationalized the Magyar literature, giving it a range and scope undreamed of before his time.
The first edition of Kisfaludy’s works, in 10 volumes, appeared at Buda in 1831, shortly after his death, but the 7th edition (Budapest 1893) is the best and fullest. See Ferenc Toldy, Lives of the Magyar Poets (Hung.) (Budapest, 1870) ; Zsolt Beöthy, The Father of Hungarian Comedy (Budapest, 1882) ”

“ Kisfaludy’s fame began to spread. He had found his true vocation as the creator of the Hungarian drama. In May 1820 he wrote three new plays for the dramatic society (he could always turn out a five-act drama in four days) which still further increased his reputation. From 1820 onwards, under the influence of the great critic Kazinczy, he learnt to polish and refine his style, while his friend and adviser György Gaal (who translated some of his dramas for the Vienna stage) introduced him to the works of Shakespeare and Goethe. ”