Original Ottoman Turkish Text

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

Dil-i bīmārımı bir kerre su’āl itmeyesin
Hele vallāh efendim bu da inṣāf degil
Dimişiñ bu dil-i pervāneme şūrīde degil
Bülbülāsā benim işim be begim lāf degil
İtdi Vāżıḥ bu ḳadar vaṣfıñı yitmez mi begim
Ṣatun alma babañıñ bende-i vaṣṣāf degil

In English

1. You never once ask after my sick heart; by God, sir, this is not fair either.

2. You have said of this moth-like heart of mine that it is not frenzied; my lord, like the nightingale's, my business is not idle talk.

3. Vâzıh has praised you this much, is it not enough, my lord; he is not a eulogist slave your father bought.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is the seventh piece in the Mukatta‘ât section of the Dîvânçe. Babaarslan and Özçakmak both describe it as a kıt‘a. It has three couplets and is written in the remel pattern "fe‘ilātün fe‘ilātün fe‘ilātün fe‘ilün". The redif (refrain word) is "degil" (is not), and the rhyme is the "-āf" of "inṣāf, lāf, vaṣṣāf". The pen name (mahlas) appears in the last couplet.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The kıt‘a is written in conversational language, like a letter of reproach. Forms of address such as "Hele vallāh efendim" (by God, sir), "be begim" (my lord) and "yitmez mi begim" (is it not enough, my lord) give the poem the warmth of an everyday conversation. Özçakmak cites the first couplet among the examples of popular speech reflected in Vâzıh's poetry. Not visiting a sick person and asking after him becomes a charge of unfairness laid against the beloved.

The second couplet names together two familiar types of lover in divan poetry. The moth burns silently in the flame of the candle, while the nightingale sings without pause for the rose. The beloved has said that the lover's heart is not frenzied; the poet defends the reality of his love by saying that his nightingale-like singing is not idle talk. The couplet can be read in two ways: the second line may be an answer to the beloved's words or an independent statement about the lover's own condition. In the last couplet the poet complains that his great praise of the beloved has gone unrewarded and says that he is not a eulogist slave bought with money by the beloved's father. The word "vaṣṣāf" (one who describes and praises much) names the poet's own craft; the kıt‘a reminds the beloved, in jest, that praise too has its price.

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. 1963; Mustafa Vâzıh, Dîvânçe, Ankara University, Department of Manuscripts, Mustafa Con A 495/III, fol. 68b). 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, p. 271.

Online sources