Reading, Translating, and Staging Milton’s Works in Communist Hungary (1948-1989)

Zoom Talk by Dr Miklós Péti, Károli Gáspár University, Budapest,Hungary.

At no point in history have there been more Hungarian readers of Milton's works than in the four decades of communism between 1948 and 1989. Yet, for both critics and the general audience, Milton was a more controversial figure than other major Western authors. On the one hand, his participation in the English Civil War earned him the title of a “revolutionary hero”, on the other hand, religious aspects of his works were disregarded and sometimes proactively suppressed. In this talk I will show some interesting examples of the special 'Hungarian Milton' that emerged under the pressure of communist cultural policies.

Event Contact: rowland.wymer@aru.ac.uk