Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: fe‘ilātün mefā‘ilün fe‘ilün

Girse dirsin ele ṣaçı girihi
Delü misin göñül ya ḫod zırıhī
Tīr-i ġamzeñden itmeseydi ḥaẕer
Ḳara zülfüñ geyer midi zırıhı
Ḫāk-i pāyın ṣabā ḫaber vireli
Her dem uçar gözümde gerd-i rehi
Dem-i Ḥıżr-ı zamān irişdi diyü
Sebz-pūş itdi ḫaṭṭı mihr ü mehi
Şöyle odlara yanduġı bu Münīr
Sini sevdügidür hemān günehi

In English

1. O heart, you say, "If only the knot of her hair would come into my hand"; are you mad, or are you wearing armour? (To reach for the curling lock is the deed only of a madman or of one clad in mail; our reading.)

2. If your black curl were not wary of the arrow of your glance, would it ever put on armour? (The ringed coils of the curl are likened to the rings of chain mail.)

3. Ever since the morning breeze brought news of the dust of her feet, the dust of her road flies in my eyes at every moment.

4. Saying that the breath of the Khidr of the age had arrived, the down (of your face) has clothed the sun and the moon in green. (The greenish look of the fine down on the cheeks is linked to the greening of whatever Khidr touches.)

5. The only sin for which this Münîr burns in such fires is that he loves you.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

This is a five-couplet Turkish ghazal, the three hundred and eighth of the Turkish ghazals in the edition (tg 308). The metre is "fe‘ilātün mefā‘ilün fe‘ilün". The rhyme words are girih, zırıh, zırıh, reh, meh and güneh; all end in the sound "-ih/-eh" followed by the sound "-i". The number of this ghazal does not appear in the list of refrains in Ersoy's introduction. The ghazal is found in two manuscripts of the divan (VT 170b, VY 143b). It is not known for whom or when it was written.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The first two couplets of the ghazal are built on the image of armour. The Kubbealtı Lugatı explains "zırh" as a garment made of iron or wire plates worn in battle for protection from blows, and notes that the word was formerly also used in the form "zırıh". It explains "girih" as knot and quotes this couplet by Şeyhî: "Ok ile kıl açar idi girihten / Kapardı halka nîzeyle zirihten". In Şeyhî's couplet too girih and zırıh are in rhyme, and arrow and ring appear together; Münîrî's first two couplets use the same set of words. The TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi says that in his Turkish ghazals Münîrî was influenced by Şeyhî among others, but there is no record showing that this ghazal has a direct relation to that couplet.

Between "zırıhī" in the opening couplet and "zırıhı" in the second there is a pun resting on likeness of sound: the first is an adjective meaning "armoured, clad in mail", the second means "the armour" (our reading). The heart wants to lay hands on the knot of the beloved's curl; this is either madness or the daring of one in armour. In the second couplet it is the curl that wears the armour. Its ringed coils are likened to the rings of mail, and its putting on armour is explained by its wariness of the arrow of the beloved's glance. The Kubbealtı explains "gamze" as looking from the corner of the eye with a languid glance; the link between the glance and the arrow comes from the wounding power of this look. One element of beauty guards itself against another; this is an instance of the fanciful giving of a cause known as hüsn-i talil.

The fourth couplet uses Khidr's association with greenness. Under Khidr (Hızır) the Kubbealtı reports that he was given this name because the spot greened when he sat on a piece of dry plant. The Kubbealtı explains "sebz" as green and quotes a couplet by Rûhî-i Bağdâdî naming the down and the forelock "siyâh u sebz" (black and green); so naming the down on the cheek with the colour green is a known turn of phrase in poetry. Münîrî ties this greenness to Khidr's breath: the cheeks shining like sun and moon have been clothed in green once the Khidr of the age has come. Whom the phrase "the Khidr of the age" refers to is not clear in the couplet.

The third couplet is built on the news brought by the morning breeze: when the dust of the beloved's feet is mentioned, the dust of her road flies in the lover's eyes. The pen-name couplet is a plain confession; the poet's whole crime is that he loves the beloved.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Academic studies

Books

  • Kubbealtı Lugatı (Misalli Büyük Türkçe Sözlük), entries "zırh", "girih", "gamze", "Hızır" and "sebz". https://lugatim.com/s/girih

Online sources