Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Mefâ’îlün Mefâ’îlün Fe’ûlün

Murâd u matlab-ı halk-ı cihân genc
Bana vaslun durur ey nev-cevân genc
Dilersen vaslını serden geç ey dil
Ele girmez bilürsin râygân genc
N’ola görsek hatı devrinde agzın
Olur âhir zemânda pes ‘ayân genc
Görinmezse ‘aceb mi mû-miyânı
Ki olur her zemân gözden nihân genc
Nice elden koyanı dâmân-ı vaslun
Ele girmez habîbüm her zemân genc
Bana ‘ışkun Hudâdan bir ‘atâdur
Ki bulmaz her kişi ey yâr-ı cân genc
Derûn-ı dilde sakla ‘ışkı Şâhî
Duyup el dimesün bulmış fülân genc

In English

1. The wish and aim of the people of the world is treasure; but for me, O fresh youth, the treasure is union with you.

2. O heart, if you desire union with her, give up your head; you know that treasure does not come to hand for nothing.

3. What if we should see her mouth in the age of her down; in the last age treasure is at last revealed.

4. Is it a wonder if her hair-thin waist cannot be seen; for treasure is always hidden from sight.

5. How could I let go of the skirt of union with you; my beloved, treasure does not come to hand at every moment.

6. Love for you is a gift to me from God; O beloved of my soul, it is a treasure that not everyone finds.

7. Şâhî, keep love hidden within your heart; let not strangers hear of it and say, "So-and-so has found a treasure."

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The ghazal of seven couplets is written in the "mefâ'îlün mefâ'îlün fe'ûlün" pattern of the hezec family and stands on folio 5b of the manuscript. The redif, as in the preceding ghazal, is the word "genc" (treasure). The rhyme is formed by the "-ân" sound in the words "cihân, nev-cevân, râygân, 'ayân, nihân, zemân, yâr-ı cân, fülân". The pen name appears in the last couplet. The sixth couplet is almost identical with the seventh couplet of G.16, and the second line of the second couplet is very close to the second line of the fourth couplet of G.16. These shared elements show that the poet, writing two ghazals with the same redif and metre, repeated certain expressions; the observation is our own.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The opening couplet says that the people of the world run after treasure, while the poet finds his treasure in union with the beloved. In the second couplet the lover is told "serden geç", that is, give up your head, your life; for treasure does not come to hand for nothing. The third couplet is the subtlest of the ghazal. "Hat devri" (the age of the down) is the period when the down appears on the face, regarded in divan poetry as the end of beauty; in the line this period is matched by "âhir zemân" (the last age). A double entendre (tevriye) is thus set up between the last age of the beloved's beauty and the last age of the world. In the couplet, which rests on the idea that hidden things will be revealed in the last age, it is said that the small mouth, reckoned invisible, can be seen in this age. This reading is our own.

In the fourth couplet the beloved's waist, being thin as a hair, cannot be seen; like a hidden treasure it is concealed from sight. The portrayal of waist and mouth as so small and thin as almost not to exist is among the familiar hyperboles of divan poetry. In the fifth couplet not letting go of the skirt of union is thought of as not parting with a treasure once it has come to hand. The last couplet repeats as counsel the idea of the opening couplet of G.16, that "treasure must be hidden": love should be kept in the heart, or else people will gossip that "so-and-so has found a treasure". The use of the word "fülân" (so-and-so) as rhyme closes the ghazal with the liveliness of everyday speech.

Reading the two ghazals together allows us to see two separate attempts at the same theme. In G.16 treasure is treated mostly through the value and talisman of love, in G.17 through the difficulty of union and secrecy.

Bibliography

  • Filiz Kılıç (ed.), Şâhî Dîvânı (Şehzâde Bâyezîd), Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Kütüphaneler ve Yayımlar Genel Müdürlüğü, 2018, e-book p. 55, ghazal no. 17 (Millet Library, Ali Emîrî Efendi, Manzum Eserler 225, fol. 5b); also p. 29 (redifs), https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/Eklenti/59394,sahi-divanipdf.pdf.

Online sources