Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: mefā‘ilün / fe‘ilātün / mefā‘ilün / fe‘ilün

Benimle gel gidelim seyre paşam itme ḥicāb
Küçük birāderidir ẓann ider gören aḥbāb
Ḳaçam didikçe dil ü cān [o] dest-i perçemden
Ṭutam diyüp düşüp ardına eylemiş pertāb
Raḳībe gideyor idi o māh şām ḳarīb
Didim ki gece ḳalursın efendim eyle şitāb
El aç paşam ḳuluña bu Sāḳız hediyyesidir
‘Acīb ḫafīf ü laṭīf ü ṣafālıdır bu şarāb
Ne çāre eyleyeyim Vāżıḥā o pek maḥcūb
Ne lāubālī tekellüm ne nūş-ı bāde-i nāb

In English

1. My pasha, come out with me for a stroll, do not be shy; friends who see us will take you for my little brother.

2. Each time heart and soul said "Let me escape" from the hand of that forelock, the forelock said "Let me catch them", ran after them and twisted and curled.

3. Evening was near, and that moon-faced one was going to the rival; I said, "My lord, you will be kept overnight, make haste."

4. My pasha, open your hand to your servant; this is a gift from Chios (Sakız). How wonderfully light, delicate and delightful this wine is.

5. O Vâzıh, what am I to do, he is so very shy: he neither speaks freely nor drinks pure wine.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

This five-couplet ghazal is written in the müctes pattern "mefā‘ilün fe‘ilātün mefā‘ilün fe‘ilün". There is no redif (refrain word); the rhyme is the "-āb" of "ḥicāb, aḥbāb, pertāb, şitāb, şarāb, nāb". The word "[o]" in the second couplet has been supplied in square brackets in the edition. The pen name (mahlas) appears in the last couplet. To whom and when it was written is not known.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

This ghazal is among Vâzıh's most often cited poems. When Özçakmak says that Vâzıh followed the style known as Nedîmâne (in the manner of Nedîm), she quotes the ghazal in full as an example. Babaarslan also notes that the poet's ghazals generally carry a playful manner following Nedîm and reflect the social life of the period. Rather than the abstract beloved of the divan ghazal, the poem is made of small scenes with an unnamed but lively youth: the poet invites him for a stroll, thinks of what people will say ("they will take you for my little brother"), tries to delay his evening visit to the rival with advice that hides his jealousy, and offers him a wine that has come from Chios.

The language of daily speech runs through the whole poem: words such as "paşam", "efendim", "itme ḥicāb", "gece ḳalursın", "eyle şitāb" bring the ghazal close to the record of a speaking voice. In the second couplet the forelock is personified; whenever the heart wants to flee, the forelock curls and runs after it to catch it. The last couplet joins the beloved's shyness with the poet's helplessness: he neither speaks freely nor drinks wine. In Özçakmak's reading the fourth couplet has "Al iç pâşâm" and the third "o mâh-ı şâm"; the text of the poem is given here according to Babaarslan's edition.

Bibliography

Academic studies

  • Giyasi Babaarslan, "Amasyalı Vâzıh ve Dîvânçesi", Akademik Dil ve Edebiyat Dergisi, 5(4), 2021, pp. 1922-1984 (text of the poem: p. 1935; Mustafa Vâzıh, Dîvânçe, Ankara University, Department of Manuscripts, Mustafa Con A 495/III, fol. 60a-60b). https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/akaded/article/993264
  • Giyasi Babaarslan, "Amasyalı Vâzıh ve Dîvânçesi", Akademik Dil ve Edebiyat Dergisi, 5(4), 2021, pp. 1924-1930 (life and description of the Dîvânçe). https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/akaded/article/993264
  • Fatma Özçakmak, "Mustafa Vâzıh Efendi ve Dîvânçe'si", Kesit Akademi Dergisi, 7(26), 2021, pp. 255-278, pp. 267-268.

Online sources