Original Ottoman Turkish Text

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

Dâg-ı hasretle ser-â-ser oda yakdum bu teni
Ben bana eyledüm ey vây beni vây beni
Nâr-ı gamdan da ziyâde yakayor hasret odı
Görmeyelden berü ey mihr-i cihân-tâb seni
Dünyede ‘âkıl ü dânâ gam u mihnetle geçer
Yüz yumaz kâbile hergiz felek-i dûn u denî
Çeşm ü ebrû vü hat u hâl ruh u ‘ârız-ı yâr
Her biri biri birinden güzel ammâ deheni
Hasret-i ‘ârız u kaddiyle ölürsem Şâhî
Kabrüme serv diküp gülden idesiz kefeni

In English

1. With the brand of longing I have set this body on fire from end to end; I did this to myself, woe is me, woe is me.

2. O sun that warms the world, since I last saw you the fire of longing burns even more than the fire of grief.

3. In this world the life of the wise and learned passes in grief and affliction; the base and vile heavens never show their face to the worthy.

4. The beloved's eye, brow, down, beauty spot, cheek and face are each more beautiful than the other; but her mouth... The line can be read in two ways: the mouth is either too beautiful for words or so small that it is as if it did not exist.

5. Şâhî, if I die of longing for her cheek and stature, plant a cypress on my grave and make my shroud of roses.

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 rhyme is the "-en" sound in the words "ten, ben, sen, denî, dehen, kefen" together with the suffix "-i" added to it. The second line of the opening couplet ends with the repetition "vây beni vây beni" (woe is me, woe is me); this repetition, taking in the rhyme word as well, sets up the rhythm of a lament. In the edition the folio mark [61b] stands after the opening couplet.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

In the opening couplet the lover says that he has burned his body from end to end with the scorching wound of longing, and he ties the result to himself: "Ben bana eyledüm", that is, I did this to myself. This phrase is close to a Turkish idiom of regret of the kind "I did it, I brought it on myself", and it gives the couplet the warmth of everyday speech. The second couplet compares grief and longing; the fire of longing is more scorching than the fire of grief. The beloved is called here "mihr-i cihân-tâb" (the sun that warms the world).

The third couplet complains of the heavens. In this world the wise and learned man spends his life in grief, while the base heavens show no favour to the worthy. The exact meaning of the phrase "yüz yumaz" in this context is not clear; we have rendered the couplet with the meaning that emerges from the context. The fourth couplet is built as an enumeration: eye, brow, down, beauty spot, cheek and face are named in turn, and all are said to be each more beautiful than the other. The line breaks off with "ammâ deheni" (but her mouth). In divan poetry the beloved's mouth is so small that it is counted as non-existent; this unfinished sentence suggests the non-existence of the mouth and the silence of speech as well. This manner of speaking, which leaves the end of the couplet to the reader, is the finest place in the ghazal.

In the closing couplet the lover asks that, if he dies of longing for the beloved's cheek and stature, a cypress be planted on his grave and his shroud be made of roses. The cypress corresponds to the beloved's stature, the rose to her cheek. In the line the cheek is named first, then the stature; in the bequest the cypress comes first, then the rose. This is the figure called leff ü neşr in divan poetry: words listed first are later given their counterparts, and here the order is reversed. A cypress at the head of a grave also matches the familiar sight of Ottoman cemeteries. To whom and when the ghazal was written is unknown.

Bibliography

  • Filiz Kılıç (ed.), Şâhî Dîvânı (Şehzâde Bâyezîd), Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Kütüphaneler ve Yayımlar Genel Müdürlüğü, 2018, e-book pp. 125-126, ghazal no. 166 (Millet Library, Ali Emîrî Efendi, Manzum Eserler 225, fol. 61b); also p. 29 (metres), https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/Eklenti/59394,sahi-divanipdf.pdf.

Online sources