Original Ottoman Turkish Text

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

Hançer almış âh eline gamze-i dil-dâr mest
Kan itmezse ‘acebdür ol gözi hûn-hâr mest
Nev-cevândur kanda bilür dahı âdem kadrini
Hûn-ı ‘uşşâk ile oynarsa n’ola ol yâr mest
Kalmadı bir kimse kim gönlin urup götürmedi
Baş açup meydâna girdi turre-i tarrâr mest
Gulgul ile dest-i sâkîde surâhî nagmede
Câm-ı ehl-i bezm elinde devr idüp oynar mest
Mest-i ‘ışkam la’lün andukça gözüm giryân olur
Dil-berin yâd idicek meşhûrdur aglar mest
Gerçi rüsvâlık durur kârı harâbât ehlinün
Görmedüm çeşmün gibi şûrîde vü ayyâr mest
Dostum Ferhâd u Mecnûnun cihânda adı var
Gelmedi Şâhî gibi bir ‘âşık-ı dîdâr mest

In English

1. Ah, the beloved's glance, drunk, has taken a dagger in hand; it would be a wonder if that bloodthirsty eye, drunk as it is, did not shed blood.

2. She is a fresh youth, how should she know a man's worth; what if that beloved, drunk, plays with the blood of lovers?

3. There is no one left whose heart she has not struck and carried off; that pickpocket forelock has entered the field bareheaded and drunk.

4. In the cupbearer's hand the flask sings with its "gulgul"; the cup in the hands of the company goes round and dances, drunk.

5. I am drunk with love; whenever I recall your ruby lips my eye weeps; it is well known that the drunkard weeps when he remembers his beloved.

6. True, the business of the tavern folk is disgrace; yet I have never seen a drunkard as distracted and roguish as your eye.

7. My friend, Ferhad and Mecnun have a name in the world; yet no lover drunk on the sight of the beloved like Şâhî has ever come.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The ghazal of seven couplets is written in the "fâ'ilâtün fâ'ilâtün fâ'ilâtün fâ'ilün" pattern and stands on folio 7a of the manuscript. The redif is the word "mest" (drunk); Kılıç counts this word among the redifs of the divan. The rhyme is formed by the "-âr" sound in the words "dil-dâr, hûn-hâr, yâr, tarrâr, 'ayyâr, dîdâr"; in the fourth and fifth couplets the verbs "oynar" and "aglar" are fitted to this sound with a short "-ar". The pen name appears in the last couplet.

Kılıç quotes this ghazal in full in his introduction as an example of the few ghazals in the divan that speak of beauties and love. There are some small differences between the quotation in the introduction and the text: in the introduction the first line of the sixth couplet reads "Gerçi rüsvâluk durur kan harâbât ehlinün", while the text reads "rüsvâlık durur kârı". The introduction also writes "'ayyâr" and "didâr". The text's reading "kârı" (its business) suits the sense better; this assessment is our own.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The word "mest" in the redif attaches to something different in each couplet: the glance, the beloved, the forelock, the cup, the lover, the beloved's eye and finally the poet are drunk. In this way the whole ghazal takes on the atmosphere of a drinking party. In the opening couplet the beloved's glance is likened to a drunkard who has taken a dagger in hand; that the glance should be a dagger and the eye bloodthirsty (hûn-hâr) are well-known themes of divan poetry. In the third couplet the forelock is called "tarrâr" (pickpocket); the hair that snatches and carries off hearts is like a reckless drunkard who has come out into the field bareheaded. The words "baş açup" (bareheaded) also suggest the hair being uncovered; this double meaning is our own observation.

The fourth couplet depicts the party itself. The sound made as wine is poured from the flask is rendered with the word "gulgul", and the flask is said to sing; the cup passing from hand to hand "goes round" (devr), which is likened to the whirling of a drunkard at play. The second line of the fifth couplet presents the drunkard's weeping when he remembers his beloved as a proverb, with the words "it is well known"; this is an utterance close to the figure of irsal-i mesel (use of a proverb). In the sixth couplet the disgrace of the tavern folk is admitted, but the beloved's eye is found more "şûrîde" (distracted) and "'ayyâr" (roguish) than all drunkards. The last couplet alludes to Ferhad and Mecnun, the two famous heroes of love stories; the poet boasts that, for all their fame, no lover as enamoured of the beloved's face as he himself has ever come.

Bibliography

  • Filiz Kılıç (ed.), Şâhî Dîvânı (Şehzâde Bâyezîd), Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Kütüphaneler ve Yayımlar Genel Müdürlüğü, 2018, e-book p. 52, ghazal no. 11 (Millet Library, Ali Emîrî Efendi, Manzum Eserler 225, fol. 7a); also p. 29 (redifs) and p. 40 (quotation of the ghazal in the introduction), https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/Eklenti/59394,sahi-divanipdf.pdf.

Online sources