Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Only the following two couplets of this poem have been published in the source; the complete poem has not been published.

Şâirim dâġ-ı derûn-ı şu‘arâyım lâlâ
‘Âlimim menba‘-ı taḥḳîḳ ü medâr-ı ilhâm
Naḳd-i vaḳtimi hemân eyledi vaḳf-ı taḥṣîl
Fıḳh u tefsîr ü ma‘ânî edebiyyât u kelâm

In English

1. I am a poet, the brand within the hearts of poets (searing them with envy); I am a scholar, the source of research and the centre of inspiration. (The meaning of the word "lâlâ" at the end of the line is not wholly clear.)

2. I have devoted the coin (the capital) of my time entirely to study: jurisprudence, exegesis, rhetoric, literature and theology.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The couplets are the 89th and 90th couplets of the third kaside in Âkif's divan. According to Öntürk and Tunçadam, this kaside, headed "Der-menḳabe-i Meḥmed Pâşâ be-taḳrîb-i vaṣf-ı ḳal‘a-yı cedîde", has 100 couplets. Its prelude describes the strength and equipment of the new fortress built by Mehmed Paşa, and Ahmed III is then praised; after the 23rd couplet comes the praise of Mehmed Paşa, and after the 82nd the fahriye (self-praise) and the prayer. The couplets come from the fahriye. The article did not publish the whole kaside. The metre is not stated in the article.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The couplets are built on two parallel claims in which Âkif defines himself as both poet and scholar. The two lines of the first couplet begin with "Şâirim" (I am a poet) and "‘Âlimim" (I am a scholar); this parallelism gives the poet's two identities equal weight. The phrase "dâġ-ı derûn-ı şu‘arâ" (the inner brand of poets) says that the poet is a wound burned by envy in the hearts of other poets. In divan poetry the word "dâġ" is associated with the black spot at the centre of the tulip; whether the word "lâlâ" at the end of the line carries a play on "lâle" (tulip) could not be determined. In the second couplet time is likened to capital, to "naḳd", ready money, and this capital is said to have been devoted entirely to study; there is a play on the similar sounds of the words "vaḳt" (time) and "vaḳf" (endowment).

Historical Context

The identity of the Mehmed Paşa to whom the kaside was presented and which fortress is meant are not stated in the article. Öntürk and Tunçadam give these couplets as an example of the places where Âkif speaks of his character as scholar and poet and of the time he devoted to study. Hüsameddin too presents him as both a scholar and "a skilled poet in literature". For the poet's life, see the article Îdîzâde Âkif Mustafa Efendi.

Bibliography

Online sources