Dóczy, Lajos

views updated

DÓCZY, LAJOS

DÓCZY, LAJOS (1845–1918), Hungarian author, poet, and playwright, also known as L. Dux. Dóczy, who was born in Sopron, studied law at Vienna, and rose to a high position in the Austro-Hungarian government. He converted to Christianity and was made a baron. A founder of the neo-Romantic school of Hungarian drama, Dóczy became famous mainly as a writer of historical plays. One of these, Az utolsó próféta ("The Last Prophet," 1869), deals with the destruction of Jerusalem. Equally at home with German and Hungarian culture, Dóczy wrote in, and translated classical works into, both languages. His translations include a Hungarian version of Goethe's Faust and a German version of Az ember tragédiája ("The Tragedy of Man") by Imre Madách. Dóczy's most important plays are Csók ("Kiss," 1874), Utolsó szerelem ("Last Love," 1884), and Széchy Mária (1886).

bibliography:

Magyar Irodalmi Lexikon, 1 (1963), 203–4; uje, 31 (1941), 584–50.

[Baruch Yaron]