Irodalom

Irodalom, the Hungarian term for literature, denotes the body of written artistic works, including poetry, prose, drama, essays, and other text-based forms. It encompasses both national and world literature and is studied for its aesthetic, historical, and cultural significance.

Historically, irodalom has developed from oral storytelling to written traditions across civilizations. It reflects language, society, and values of its time, and is transmitted through manuscripts, print, and now digital media. In academic contexts, irodalom is a discipline combining literary history, criticism, and theory.

Core genres include poetry, fiction, drama, and essay, with subgenres such as novels, short stories, epic poetry, lyric poetry, tragedy, and comedy. Themes often explore human experience, identity, memory, morality, power, and social change, while formal concerns include narrative voice, imagery, meter, structure, and rhetoric.

Irodalomtudomány (literary studies) analyzes texts within their historical and cultural contexts, employing methods from philology, formal analysis, and various critical theories. Literature influences education, culture, and public discourse, and it engages in translation and intercultural exchange, contributing to global literary heritage.