Folklorism

The effect of Bulgarian folk poetry in the poems of László Nagy

Abstract

László Nagy spent about one and a half years in Bulgaria from the autumn of 1949. „Having learnt the language, my task was to translate Bulgarian poetry.” – he wrote later about this period. This short essay shows that he did not only learn the language during the time spent there but he could be absorbed in the world of Bulgarian folklore as well. Besides his literary translations, this effect can also be observed in other parts of his lira in this way. This time I
am going to show the remnants of this strange world and culture in the poems entitled Záporeső hull (It is raining), Sztoján és a tündér (Sztoján and the fairy), Krali Markó ereje
(Krali Markó’s power) and Gyöngyszoknya (A skirt of beads)