Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilün

İy felek dā’im beni sen nā-murād itmek neden
Beni ġamgīn eyleyüp aġyārı şād itmek neden
Dād elüñden iy felek her gün baña cevr eyleyüp
Ol raḳīb-i kāfire ‘adl ile dād itmek neden
Cāhilüñ virüp felek maḳṣūdın ehl-i dānişüñ
Nā-murād olmasını dā’im murād itmek neden
Ḥūra beñzer ol ṣanem ṣūretde gerçi iy felek
Sen bu ḥüsn ile anı kāfir-nijād itmek neden
Ni‘met-i vaṣlı felek virüp raḳībe zehrini
Kāsesini pür idüp ‘Adlī'ye zād itmek neden

In English

1. O heavens (felek), why do you always leave me without my wish? Why make me sorrowful and the strangers (the rivals) glad?

2. O heavens, I cry for justice against your hand; why, tormenting me every day, do you give that infidel rival his due with fairness?

3. Heavens, why, granting the ignorant their desire, do you make it your own desire that the people of learning should always be left without theirs?

4. O heavens, that idol-like beauty does indeed resemble a houri (a maiden of paradise) in appearance; why, with this beauty, did you make him infidel by nature (merciless)?

5. Heavens, why, giving the blessing of union to the rival, do you fill a bowl with its poison and make it Adlî's provision for the road? That is, the rival enjoys the sweetness of union, and the poison falls to Adlî's share.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The ghazal (gazel) has five couplets and is written in the remel metre "fâ‘ilâtün fâ‘ilâtün fâ‘ilâtün fâ‘ilün". The redif (refrain word) is "itmek neden" (why do you make), and the rhyme rests on the sound "-âd": nâ-murâd, şâd, dâd, murâd, nijâd, zâd. It stands as no. 101 in Bayram's edition and is found in all five manuscripts (OR, T, M1, M2, İBB). Two variants are recorded: in couplet 4, OR and İBB read "melek" (angel) for "felek", and in the same couplet M1 reads "nis̱ār" for "nijād". In the OR and İBB reading the address in the fourth couplet is directed not to the heavens but to an angel. To whom and when it was written is not known.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The ghazal is from beginning to end a reproach addressed to the heavens. "Felek", in its dictionary sense, is the sky and the vault of heaven; in classical Ottoman poetry it is spoken of as a turning wheel that decides human fortune and, more often than not, does injustice. Every couplet ends with the same question: "why?" The repetition of the refrain gives the feeling that the complaint goes unanswered. In each couplet the heavens are charged with a fresh injustice: they make the lover sorrowful and the rival glad; they grant the ignorant their wish and deprive the learned; they join beauty with mercilessness; they give union to the rival and poison to the lover.

The second couplet dwells on the word "dâd". In its dictionary sense the word means both "justice, one's due" and the cry of "mercy, help" raised by the wronged. "Dâd elüñden" at the head of the first line is a cry of complaint; "dâd itmek" at the end of the second line means to give someone his due. The use of the same word in two different senses is an example of the figure of cinas (paronomasia). The word "‘adl" (justice) in the line comes from the same root as the poet's pen name (mahlas), "Adlî"; it is striking that in the poem of a ruler who wished to be known for justice, the heavens are accused of dispensing justice in the wrong place. In the introduction to his edition, Bayram cites another ghazal (Ghazal 41) as an example of the emphasis on justice in Adlî's poems.

In the third couplet there is antithesis between "murâd" (wish) and "nâ-murâd" (without one's wish); "câhil" (the ignorant) and "ehl-i dâniş" (the people of learning) are also set against each other. The heavens seem to have made it their own wish that learned people should not attain theirs. In the fourth couplet the beloved is called "sanem" (idol); in appearance he resembles the houris of paradise, but by nature he is an "infidel". In classical poetry the beautiful one is called infidel for his mercilessness; the antithesis between "hûr" (houri) and "kâfir" (infidel) carries this duality.

The closing couplet sets a table. There is congruence of images (tenasüp) among the words "ni‘met" (blessing, food), "kâse" (bowl), "zehr" (poison) and "zâd" (provisions for a journey). The blessing of union is served to the rival; the poison of the same blessing is poured into a bowl and handed to Adlî as provision. The appearance of the pen name in this couplet ties the complaint, at the end of the ghazal, to the poet's own name.

Bibliography

  • Yavuz Bayram (ed.), Adlî Dîvânı (Dîvân-ı Sultân Bâyezîd-i Sânî), Ankara: Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Yay., 2018, p. 139, poem no. 101 (manuscript variants in the footnote on the same page); on the emphasis on justice, introduction, p. 24. ekitap.ktb.gov.tr