Ján Chalupka


Ján Chalupka was a Slovak dramatist, playwright, publicist and Evangelical pastor.

Life

He was born in Horná Mičiná, into the family of Evangelical pastor Adam Chalupka, and was not the only member who chose literature: his brother Samo Chalupka was also a writer. Chalupka was educated at home, in Ožďany, Levoča, Prešov, Sárospatak and studied in Vienna and Jena. He was a teacher, from 1817 to 1824 a professor at a lyceum in Kežmarok and from 1824 until his death a pastor in Brezno.

Works

His main contribution into the Slovak literature was in drama. His activities were the impulse for the theatrical life in present-day Slovakia. He wrote mainly dramatic satirical works, where he criticized local patriotism, Magyarization aspects, conservatism, limited life goals etc. His first works were in Czech and Hungarian, but after 1848 he started writing in Slovak and translated originally Czech works into Slovak.

Drama

Cycle about Kocúrkovo :