Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilün

Sînemi delmek diler gamzen be-hey zâlim benüm
Hâlüme rahm itmez isen ne olur hâlüm benüm
Sen gül-i ra’nâlar içre her nice mümtâz isen
Bülbül-i şeydâlar içre yokdur emsâlüm benüm
Tîg-i hecrün katlüme geldükçe ihmâl itmesün
Râh-ı ‘ışk içre ölümden yokdur ehvâlüm benüm
Yâ firâkunla ölem yâ hasretünle cân virem
Bu tarîk-i ‘ışkdur yâ n’olısar hâlüm benüm
Gönlüm içre mihnet ü derd ü belâdan gayrı yok
Ol sebebdendür mükedder böyle ahvalüm benüm
Niçe yıldur bendesiyem ol güzeller şâhınun
Hizmetümde yok durur ey Şâhî ihmâlüm benüm

In English

1. You tyrant, your glance wants to pierce my breast; if you take no pity on my state, what will become of me?

2. However distinguished you are among the graceful roses, among the frenzied nightingales I too have no equal.

3. Whenever the sword of separation from you comes to kill me, let it not delay; on the path of love I have no fear of death at all.

4. Either let me die of separation from you or give up my soul in longing for you; this is the path of love, otherwise what will become of me?

5. There is nothing in my heart but affliction, pain and calamity; that is why my states are so full of sorrow.

6. O Şâhî, for so many years I have been the servant of that shah of the beauties; there is no negligence in my service.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The six-couplet ghazal is written in the "fâ'ilâtün fâ'ilâtün fâ'ilâtün fâ'ilün" pattern. The redif (refrain word) is "benüm" (my, of mine), and the rhyme is the "-âl" sound in "hâl, emsâl, ehvâl, hâl, ahval, ihmâl" followed by the suffix "-üm". The rhyme word "hâlüm" (my state) is used twice, in the opening and fourth couplets; "ahvâl" in the fifth couplet is the plural of the same word. That three of the rhyme words come from the same root shows that the ghazal turns around the word "hâl". Kılıç counts the ghazal among the ten with the redif "benüm"; in footnote 73 it appears as "105", because in this part of the edition the numbers in the introduction are one less than those of the text. In the edition the folio mark 40a stands at the end of the fifth couplet. The addressee is not stated.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The opening couplet begins with a harsh form of address drawn from everyday speech, "be-hey zâlim" (you tyrant). The beloved's glance (gamze) is a weapon that wants to pierce the breast; the lover's question is simple: if you take no pity, what will become of me. The second couplet sets its two lines against each other. The beloved is distinguished among the "gül-i ra'nâ" (graceful roses), and the lover is without equal among the "bülbül-i şeydâ" (frenzied nightingales). Here the rose and nightingale motif turns into a claim of equality: what the beloved is in beauty, the poet is in love. This is a boast (tefahür) in his own love.

In the third couplet the lover asks that the sword of separation not delay. "Ehvâl" is the plural of "hevl", meaning fear: on the path of love death holds no fear. The fourth couplet begins with a choice between two deaths: either to die of separation or to give up the soul in longing. The word "yâ" (either, or) is repeated three times in the lines, and the couplet concludes that these alternatives are the path of love itself. In the fifth couplet the heart resembles a house made of affliction, pain and calamity; the sorrow of the lover's states comes from there.

In the closing couplet the poet says that for years he has been the servant of the "shah of the beauties" and has not failed in his service. The language of service between servant and shah is the common expression of devotion to the beloved in divan poetry. In murabba 3, which Kılıç quotes in his introduction among the poems addressing the father, the word "hizmet" (service) also stands at the centre of the refrain ("Murâdum hâk-i pâyünde hemân hizmetde olmakdur", my wish is only to be in service at the dust of your feet). Since in this ghazal the addressee is expressly called "shah of the beauties", the closeness between the two poems points only to a shared vocabulary; this is our observation.

Bibliography

  • Filiz Kılıç (ed.), Şâhî Dîvânı (Şehzâde Bâyezîd), Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Kütüphaneler ve Yayımlar Genel Müdürlüğü, 2018, e-book p. 98, ghazal no. 106 (Millet Library, Ali Emîrî Efendi, Manzum Eserler 225, fol. 40a); also p. 29 (footnote 73: ghazals with the redif "benüm") and p. 34 (murabba 3), https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/Eklenti/59394,sahi-divanipdf.pdf.

Online sources