Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilün

Ḫādim-i mey-ḫāneye ben çāker olaldan ġulām
Ṭut ki şāh-ı ‘ālemem k’oldum cihān içre be-nām
Eşküme gitme ciger biryānı var didüm göñül
Ṭurmayup gitdi didi kim ḳaydluya ṣoḥbet ḥarām
Ṣunma el nev-bāve-i bāġ-ı muzaḫraf-şekle kim
Anı bilürsin ki boġaz ṭutar olsa mīve ḫām
‘Işḳ-ı dil-ber diyü başuña belā alduñ ṣatun
Saña sözin ṭoġrusın ben didüm ey dil ve’s-selām
Añduġumca vaṣl-ı yāri merdüm-i çeşmüm Münīr
Yüz dereden ṣu getürür ben ḳılınca bir kelām

In English

1. Since I became the slave and servant of the tavern's attendant, consider me the sovereign of the world, for I have become renowned in the world.

2. I said to the heart, "Do not go to my tears, there is roasted liver there"; it did not stay but went off and said, "Company is forbidden to one who is bound" (the couplet is not entirely clear).

3. Do not stretch out your hand to the first fruit of the garden with its gilded look; you know that if fruit is unripe, it sticks in the throat.

4. Saying "the beloved's love", you bought trouble for your head; O heart, I have told you the plain truth of the matter, and that is all (ve's-selām).

5. Münîr, whenever I speak of union with the beloved, before I can say a single word the pupil of my eye brings water from a hundred streams (it both sheds tears from a hundred streams and strings out every kind of excuse).

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

This is a five-couplet Turkish ghazal, the two hundred and third of the Turkish ghazals in the edition (tg 203). The metre is "fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilün". The ghazal has no redif (refrain word); the rhyme rests on "-ām": ġulām, be-nām, ḥarām, ḫām, selām and kelām. The ghazal is in the VT (145b) and VY (121a) manuscripts, but not in Ü. It is not known for whom or when it was written.

The edition records two variant readings. The word "ḳaydluya" in the second couplet is written "ḳayd ile" in VT; in this reading the saying means "company with restraint, with bonds, is forbidden". The word "ben" in the fifth couplet is "bir" in VT. The ghazal shares its metre and the rhymes "ḥarām", "selām" and "kelām" with Ghazal 200 of the edition; the saying "ḳaydluya ṣoḥbet ḥarām" stands at the end of a line in both ghazals (our observation).

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The ghazal opens in the libertine (rind) manner. Because the lover is a slave to the tavern's attendant, he counts himself sovereign of the world; there is a contrast (tezat) between "ġulām" (slave) and "şāh" (king). A similar expression appears in other ghazals of the divan: the opening couplet of Ghazal 131 has the line "Çāker-i pīr-i muġān u ḫādim-i mey-ḫāneyüz" (we are the slaves of the Magian elder and the servants of the tavern), and the third couplet of Ghazal 153 the line "Çāker-i pīr-i muġānam ḫādimi mey-ḫānenüñ". In the second couplet the lover wants to keep his heart from the gathering of his tears; at that gathering there is "ciger biryānı" (roasted liver), that is, the tears are full of the blood of the burnt liver. The heart, however, leaves, saying "Ḳaydluya ṣoḥbet ḥarām" (company is forbidden to one who is bound). The Kubbealtı Lugatı derives "kayd" from the Arabic sense "to bind"; since the heart is bound to the beloved, it cannot join another company. The couplet contains irsal-i mesel (the use of a proverbial saying).

The third couplet is a piece of counsel. The Kubbealtı Lugatı explains "muzahraf" as adorned with false ornament, paint or sham gilding; the Turkish Language Association dictionary defines "turfanda" as fruit and vegetables that ripen first at the start of the season. The first fruit of the showy garden is attractive from outside, but it is unripe and chokes the one who eats it. In this respect the couplet can be read as a warning against the deceptive ornament of the world (our observation). The Kubbealtı Lugatı explains "ham", of fruit, as not ripe enough to eat. The fourth couplet has the expression "başuña belā almaḳ" (to bring trouble on one's head) and a firm verdict closing with "ve's-selām" (and that is all); this couplet too is counsel close to everyday speech.

The couplet bearing the pen name (mahlas) rests on an idiom. The Turkish Language Association dictionary explains the idiom "bin dereden su getirmek" (to bring water from a thousand streams) as to put forward many reasons in order to persuade someone, to talk at length. Münîrî's "yüz dereden ṣu getürür" (brings water from a hundred streams) can be read as a form of this idiom (our observation). Whenever the lover speaks of union, before he can say a word the pupil of his eye brings water from a hundred streams: literally it sheds tears like a hundred streams, and figuratively it strings out all kinds of words and excuses. Because it is the eye that deals in water, the idiom is joined to its own literal meaning. There is a congruence of images (tenasüp) between "merdüm-i çeşm" (pupil of the eye), "dere" (stream) and "ṣu" (water).

Bibliography

Primary sources

Official sources

  • Türk Dil Kurumu, Güncel Türkçe Sözlük, entries "turfanda" and "bin dereden su getirmek". https://sozluk.gov.tr/

Books

Online sources