Rede am 15. März 1848 ( Nationallied)

Considered the greatest lyric poet of nineteenth-century Hungary, Petofi takes as the subject for most of his poems the life of Hungarian peasantry. The main themes of his poetry are love and patriotism. He is best known for his poem about peasant life, Janos the Hero, and for the "Talpra Magyar," known as the Hungarian "Marseillaise," written show more during the Hungarian struggle for independence in 1848. Petofi enlisted in the army in order to take part in this struggle and is believed to have died during the battle of Segesvar in 1849, at the age of 26. (Bowker Author Biography) show less