Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Mef’ûlü Mefâ’îlün Mef’ûlü Mefâ’îlün

Zâhid niçün itmezmiş ol kâmet ü ândan haz
Âdem midür ol k’itmez bir serv-i revândan haz
Hecründe geçen ‘ömrün hiç dâdını bulmadum
Vasluna irişmekle buldum dil ü cândan haz
Sensüz bu cihân içre bildüm ki olınmazmış
Ey yâr-ı dil-ârâmum hûbân-ı cihândan haz
Ey bülbül-i dil turma gel nâle vü efgân it
Gördük ideyor çün ol gül-çihre figândan haz
Kûyunda seni Şâhî bu hüsn ile seyr itmiş
Hîç ide mi andan ol havrâ-yı cinândan haz

In English

1. Why, they say, does the ascetic take no pleasure in that stature and that indefinable charm? Is he human who takes no pleasure in a cypress walking with grace?

2. I never found justice for the life spent in separation from you; by attaining union with you I took pleasure in heart and soul.

3. O beloved who soothes my heart, I have learned that without you no pleasure can be taken in the beauties of this world.

4. O nightingale of the heart, do not stop, come, moan and lament; for we see that the rose-faced one takes pleasure in lament.

5. Şâhî has gazed upon you in your street with this beauty; would he ever take pleasure in the houri of paradise?

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The ghazal of five couplets is written in the "mef'ûlü mefâ'îlün mef'ûlü mefâ'îlün" pattern. According to Kılıç's breakdown of metres, there are only two Turkish ghazals in the divan written in this pattern; this ghazal is one of them. It carries no folio mark in the edition; since it follows the 27a mark in the preceding ghazal, it is understood to stand on the same folio. The redif (refrain) is "-dan haz" (pleasure in), and the rhyme is the "-ân" sound in the words "ân, revân, cân, cihân, figân, cinân". "Haz" appears in Kılıç's list of refrains. The pen name appears in the last couplet.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The ghazal opens with the contrast between lover and ascetic, frequent in divan poetry. Because the ascetic turns away from worldly beauties, he takes no pleasure in the beloved's stature and "ân". "Ân" means the indefinable charm in beauty, and entering the rhyme with this subtle word is one of the striking features of the ghazal. The second line of the opening couplet sharpens the question: is he human who takes no pleasure in a cypress walking with grace? There is a congruence of images (tenasüp) between "kâmet" (stature) and "serv-i revân" (walking cypress).

The second couplet compares separation and union: the life spent in separation was never given its due, but union made it possible to take pleasure in heart and soul. The third couplet says that without the beloved no pleasure can be taken in the beauties of the world either; all the beauties of the world gain meaning through the beloved's existence. In the fourth couplet the image of rose and nightingale is used with a subtlety that reverses it: since the rose-faced beloved enjoys the nightingale's lament, the lover tells his heart not to fall silent but to go on moaning. The lover's pain has turned into the beloved's pleasure.

The last couplet ties the ghazal back to the theme of the ascetic. What the ascetic hopes for is the houri of paradise; Şâhî, however, has seen the beloved in his own street with this beauty, and now "havrâ-yı cinân", the houri of paradise, no longer attracts him. Thus the ascetic of the opening couplet and the lover of the closing couplet face each other: one rejects beauty in this world and waits for paradise, the other prefers beauty in this world to paradise. There is no sign of a date or person in the ghazal.

Bibliography

  • Filiz Kılıç (ed.), Şâhî Dîvânı (Şehzâde Bâyezîd), Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Kütüphaneler ve Yayımlar Genel Müdürlüğü, 2018, e-book p. 82, ghazal no. 72 (Millet Library, Ali Emîrî Efendi, Manzum Eserler 225, fol. 27a); also p. 29 (list of refrains and breakdown of metres), https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/Eklenti/59394,sahi-divanipdf.pdf.

Online sources