Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilün

Hīc bulmadum vefā‘ahdüñde ben
Şöyle m’olur vār hey ḳavli yalan
Derd-i ‘ışḳa çāre bulmadum meger
Yine dermānın vire derdin viren
Añmaz olduñ bizi aṣlā ey göñül
Bize ne virdi ‘aceb sini alan
Vuṣlat-ı yārı raḳībe añma hīc
Saña ey dil kim ṣorar bayram ḳaçan
Ġamzesi deldiyse baġruñı Münīr
N’ola hīc añma anı geçdi geçen

In English

1. I have never found faithfulness in your pledge; is this how it is done? Go, you whose word is a lie.

2. It seems I could find no remedy for the pain of love; let the one who gave the pain give its cure as well.

3. O heart, you no longer remember us at all; I wonder, what did the one who took you give us in return?

4. Never speak of union with the beloved to the rival; O heart, who is asking you when the feast is?

5. Münîr, if her glance has pierced your breast, what of it; do not speak of it at all, what is past is past.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

This is a five-couplet Turkish ghazal, the two hundred and tenth of the Turkish ghazals in the edition (tg 210). The metre is "fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilün"; this is a shorter, eleven-syllable measure than the fifteen-syllable pattern used in neighbouring ghazals (for example tg 206 and 207). The ghazal has no redif (refrain word); the line endings meet on the sound "-n": ben, yalan, viren, alan, ḳaçan and geçen. The ghazal is found in two divan manuscripts (VT 147b, VY 123b) and in the Pervâne Bey Mecmuası (PB 452b); it is absent from the Ü manuscript. The edition records no variant readings. It is not known for whom or when it was written.

The language of the ghazal is plain; Persian phrases are limited to a few common expressions such as "vuṣlat-ı yār" (union with the beloved) and "derd-i ‘ışḳ" (the pain of love). Most of the couplets are close to the spoken language and close on short, firm statements.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The ghazal opens with a reproach. In the opening couplet the poet says there is no faithfulness in the beloved's pledge, and the beloved is scolded as "ḳavli yalan", one whose word is a lie. Colloquial turns with the force of exclamations, such as "şöyle m'olur" (is this how it is done?) and "vār hey" (go, you), set the tone of the couplet. In the second couplet the words "derd" (pain) and "dermān" (cure) are set against each other; the wish that the one who gave the pain should also give the cure is the poet's way of leaving the matter to the giver of pain, since he himself has found no remedy for love. Ersoy notes that Münîrî makes frequent use of proverbs and idioms; the firm, general statement of the second line fits this manner.

In the third couplet the poet reproaches his own heart. The heart no longer remembers "us", that is, the poet, because the beloved has taken it. The question "Bize ne virdi ‘aceb sini alan" (what, I wonder, did the one who took you give us?) is framed in the language of buying and selling: what did the one who took the heart give in exchange? In the fourth couplet union is likened to a feast day. The Kubbealtı Lugatı also gives "bayram" the figurative sense of great joy, an occasion for joy. The lover should not tell the rival of his union; the rival is not asking him when the feast is. The couplet uses a colloquial turn to say that there is no need to announce one's joy to a jealous person (our own observation).

In the couplet bearing the pen name (mahlas) the beloved's glance has pierced the poet's breast, but the poet advises that this too should not be spoken of. The phrase "geçdi geçen" (what is past is past) expresses leaving what has happened behind. The verb "añmak" (to remember, to mention) occurs in three separate couplets of the ghazal: the heart does not remember the poet, the poet must not mention union to the rival, and he must not mention the wound opened by the glance (our own observation). This repetition ends the ghazal, which began with a reproach, on a resolve to keep silent.

Bibliography

Online sources