Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fe’ilâtün Fe’ilâtün Fe’ilâtün Fe’ilün

Kes başın koma saçun halka perîşânlug ide
Kim işitdi ki ‘Arab Rûmda sultânlug ide
‘Ârızun mülkini tutmış hatun ey şâh-ı cihân
Mûr ‘asker çeküp ister ki Süleymânlug ide
Mîr-i iklîm-i Hıtâ vü Hoten ü şâh-ı Habeş
Cân virürler ki gelüp kapuna derbânlug ide
Sıdk u ihlâsum ile himmet ü lutfun k’ola yâr
Cânı yokdur ki rakîb adlu (?) şeytânlug ide
Şâhîyi vâlih ü âşüfte vü dem-beste kılur
Tûtî-âsâ dehenün kim şeker-efşânlug ide

In English

1. Cut the end of your hair, do not let its rings bring distress to the people; who has ever heard of an Arab holding the sultanate in Rum?

2. O shah of the world, the down on your cheek has seized the realm of your face; the ant musters its army and wishes to play Solomon.

3. The lord of the land of Khitai and Khotan and the shah of Abyssinia would give their lives to come and serve as doorkeepers at your gate.

4. Through my sincerity and devotion let your favour and grace be my friend, so that the devil called rival has no courage left to play the devil.

5. Your mouth, scattering sugar like a parrot, leaves Şâhî bewildered, distraught and tongue-tied.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The five-couplet ghazal is written in the "fe'ilâtün fe'ilâtün fe'ilâtün fe'ilün" pattern. The redif (refrain) is "-lug ide" (should act as), and the rhyme is the "-ân" sound in the words "perîşân, sultân, Süleymân, derbân, şeytân, şeker-efşân". Kılıç counts "ide" among the refrains of the divan. In the edition the word "adlu" (called) in the fourth couplet is given with the mark "(?)"; the reading is not certain, and the text has not been altered. The folio mark [55a] stands after the second couplet.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The language of the ghazal is taken from a vocabulary of sovereignty: sultanate, Rum, realm, army, playing Solomon, the lord of Khitai and Khotan, the shah of Abyssinia, the office of doorkeeper. In the opening couplet black hair is thought of as an "Arab" and the white face as "Rum" (the Greek, Byzantine lands); in divan poetry this contrast is a familiar image. The rule of black hair over the white face is likened to an Arab becoming sultan in Rum, and it is asked that this should not be permitted. The command "kes başın" (cut its head) recalls both the trimming of the hair's end and the beheading of a rebel. The word "halka" likewise carries both the rings of the hair and the dative "halka" (to the people); the rings bring distress, and the people are distressed.

In the second couplet the fine down newly appearing on the cheek (hat) is likened to ants. The Qur'anic story of Solomon and the ant forms the ground for this comparison: here the ant gathers an army and sets out to rule like Solomon. In the ghazal Firâkî sent to Bayezid, quoted by Kılıç, there is also the line "Mûra teslîm itdi sanki şâh-ı mârân tahtını" (as if the king of the serpents had surrendered his throne to the ant); the relation between the down of the cheek, the ant and Solomon's throne is an image known in that circle. The third couplet presents the beloved's beauty as great enough to make the rulers of distant lands into doorkeepers. In the closing couplet the mouth is likened to a parrot scattering sugar; the congruence of images (tenasüp) between parrot and sugar is frequent in divan poetry.

In the fourth couplet the phrase "cânı yokdur" (literally, he has no soul) means "he has no courage, he cannot manage it". The addressee of the ghazal is not stated in the edition. The address "şâh-ı cihân" (shah of the world) together with the word "Süleymânlug" (playing Solomon) brings Kanuni to mind, but in the couplet Solomon is clearly tied to the story of the prophet. This play on the name is only our own reading, as a possibility.

Bibliography

  • Filiz Kılıç (ed.), Şâhî Dîvânı (Şehzâde Bâyezîd), Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Kütüphaneler ve Yayımlar Genel Müdürlüğü, 2018, e-book p. 118, ghazal no. 149 (Millet Library, Ali Emîrî Efendi, Manzum Eserler 225, fol. 55a); also p. 8 (Firâkî's ghazal), p. 29 (refrains) and p. 43 (the meaning of the mark "(?)"), https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/Eklenti/59394,sahi-divanipdf.pdf.

Online sources