Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: mefā‘īlün mefā‘īlün mefā‘īlün mefā‘īlün

Yine şādum ki ol gül-çehreden būy-ı vefā geldi
Küdūret gitdi göñlümden bi-ḥamdillāh ṣafā geldi

In English

1. Again I am glad, for the scent of faithfulness has come from that rose-faced beloved; sorrow has left my heart, praise be to God, and joy has come. (Küdûret literally means turbidity, sorrow; safâ means clearness, ease of heart. Bi-hamdillâh is an Arabic phrase meaning "praise be to God".)

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

This is a single-couplet matla (opening couplet) written in the hezec metre "mefâ‘îlün mefâ‘îlün mefâ‘îlün mefâ‘îlün". The redif (refrain word) is "geldi" (came), and the rhyme is the "-fâ" sound in the words "vefâ" and "safâ"; since both lines end with the same redif and rhyme, the couplet has the form of the opening couplet of a ghazal (gazel). In Bayram's edition it is number 150 in the "Matla‘lar" section, and according to the edition's footnote it is found in only one of the five manuscripts, M2 (36a). This manuscript, copied by Ali Emîrî, also contains some short pieces not seen in the other manuscripts; by Bayram's count M2 has 131 ghazals, 1 murabba, 2 kıt‘as, 3 matlas, 1 müfred and 2 ferds, and the poems are labelled by form. Whether the couplet belonged to a ghazal is not known. To whom and when it was written is not known either.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

In divan poetry the beloved is usually faithless and cruel, and the lover complains of this faithlessness. This couplet, however, captures the opposite moment: word of faithfulness has come from the beloved and the lover's heart is at ease. The opening word "Yine" (again) suggests that this joy has been felt before, and that the lover's state swings between sorrow and gladness. The beloved is called "gül-çehre", rose-faced, and the faithfulness that comes from the beloved is imagined as a scent. Giving a scent to faithfulness, an abstract notion, is a metaphor (istiare); there is also a congruence of images (tenasüp) between rose and scent. Just as the rose makes itself known from afar by its scent, the beloved's faithfulness reaches the lover first as a scent.

The main figure of the second line is the contrast (tezat) between "küdûret" and "safâ". Both words, in their dictionary sense, describe the state of water: küdûret is turbidity, safâ clearness. In their figurative senses one means sorrow and the other joy. The heart is thus likened to water that has cleared after being troubled. The phrase "bi-hamdillâh" lends the couplet the warmth of everyday speech; the lover voices his joy with a phrase of thanksgiving. The ending of both lines with the redif "geldi" also stresses how the news and the joy follow one after the other: first the scent of faithfulness came, then joy came to the heart. The couplet's language is plain and its construction simple. A single feeling, the relief born of a small sign from the beloved, is told in a few words.

Bibliography

  • Yavuz Bayram (ed.), Adlî Dîvânı (Dîvân-ı Sultân Bâyezîd-i Sânî), Ankara: Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Yay., 2018, p. 186, poem no. 150 (manuscript information in the footnote on the same page; description of manuscript M2 p. 32). ekitap.ktb.gov.tr