Original Ottoman Turkish Text
Metre: Mefʿūlü mefāʿīlü mefāʿīlün faʿ (fāʿ) and Mefʿūlü mefāʿīlü mefāʿīlü feʿūl
Bir zen ki degil şūḫ u ẓarīf u şāṭır
Şīrin ü şeker-ḫand u beşūş u ʿāṭır
Yoḳ ḫiffet-i rūḥiyyesi bir ʿiffeti var
Aldıḳ o yüki düşe berā-yı ḫāṭır
In English
1. A woman who is neither playful, nor graceful, nor clever; neither sweet, nor sugar-smiling, nor cheerful, nor fragrant.
2. There is no lightness in her spirit, but she has chastity; we took on that burden for the sake of the heart's regard.
Literary and Historical Commentary
Within the marriage sequence a softer and sadder voice is heard here. The first couplet is a list of negatives: the woman is neither playful, nor graceful, nor clever; neither sweet, nor cheerful, nor fragrant. This list seems to count one by one all the qualities divan poetry seeks in the beloved and to deny them.
The second couplet, however, turns with an exception and an acceptance: there is no lightness in this woman's spirit, but she has chastity. The poet took on that burden "berâ-yı hâtır", for the sake of the heart's regard, as a debt of respect and loyalty. After the harsh satire of the preceding quatrains, this close describes marriage as a matter of patience and regard. Since it is not known from documents whether the quatrains bear witness to the poet's own family life, reading them within a tradition of satire and wisdom is the safest course.
Bibliography
- Havva Tok Yıldız, Merzifonlu İbrâhîm Cûdî Dîvânı (İnceleme-Metin-Sözlük) [1b-43a], Master's thesis, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Samsun 2017, p. 113 (poem no. 133; manuscript fol. ). http://libra.omu.edu.tr/tezler/116853.pdf
Online sources
