Original Persian Text

Metre: Mefâ’îlün Mefâ’îlün Fe’ûlün

Hudâyâ cürm-i men ez had birûn şod
Ne-yâyed der şümâr ez-add birûn şod
Kerîmâ afv kon ez âh u zârî
Ciger mecrûh geşt ü dîde hûn şod
Zi şerm ü haclet ü ayb u günâhem
Dilem çün gonce rûyem lâle gûn şod
Halâsem deh be-dest-i cürm ü isyân
Dil ü cânem giriftâr u zebûn şod
Bi-hamdi’llâh merâ Şâhî zi-evvel
Sa’âdet yâr u devlet reh-nümûn şod

In English

1. My God, my guilt has passed all bounds; it cannot be counted, it has gone beyond number.

2. O Generous One, forgive me for the sake of my sighs and moaning; my liver is wounded, my eye has turned to blood.

3. From shame, embarrassment, disgrace and my sin my heart has become like a bud (pressed and knotted), my face the colour of a tulip (crimson).

4. Grant me deliverance from the hand of guilt and rebellion; my heart and soul have become captive and helpless.

5. Praise be to God, O Şâhî, from the very beginning felicity has been my friend and fortune my guide.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The five-couplet Persian ghazal is written in the "mefâ'îlün mefâ'îlün fe'ûlün" pattern. The redif is "şod", and the rhyme is the "-ûn" sound in "birûn, birûn, hûn, gûn, zebûn, reh-nümûn". Both lines of the opening couplet end with "birûn"; Kılıç records that the Persian divançe has "füzûn" (more) in the second line. The reading "ez-add füzûn şod" (became more than number) removes the repetition of the rhyme in the opening couplet; for this reason we think that the form in the divançe may be the more correct one. In the edition there is no folio mark within the text of this ghazal.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

This ghazal is almost a twin of Persian Ghazal 7, which precedes it. The two poems are written in the same metre, with the same redif and the same rhyme sound; the rhymes "birûn, hûn, zebûn, reh-nümûn" occur in both, and both opening couplets begin with sin "passing all bounds". One may think that the poet tried two supplications on the same ground; this observation is ours. The ghazal is a münâcât from beginning to end. In the second couplet God is addressed by the name "Kerîm" (the Generous). The third couplet expresses shame through two flowers: the heart is pressed together like a bud whose petals are closed upon themselves, and the face reddens like a tulip from shame. Kılıç's footnote says that the face "darkened"; the red colour of the tulip, however, also suggests blushing. In the fourth couplet guilt and rebellion have taken heart and soul captive like a tyrant; the phrase "be-dest-i" (from the hand of) completes the personification that likens guilt to the hand of an oppressor.

The closing couplet suddenly changes the mood of the supplication. The poet thanks God because from the very beginning felicity has been his friend and fortune his guide. The word "devlet" here means fortune, happiness; in the mouth of a prince it also recalls the sense of sovereignty and power. That a poem which began with the confession of sin closes with thanksgiving shows confidence that the hope of pardon will be fulfilled. Kılıç says nothing about this ghazal beyond the Turkish renderings in the footnotes, and there is no sign in the poem of the person to whom or the time at which it was written.

Bibliography

  • Filiz Kılıç (ed.), Şâhî Dîvânı (Şehzâde Bâyezîd), Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Kütüphaneler ve Yayımlar Genel Müdürlüğü, 2018, e-book p. 158, Persian ghazal no. 8 (Millet Library, Ali Emîrî Efendi, Manzum Eserler 225); footnotes 167-172 (variant in the Persian divançe, Turkish meanings of the couplets); also p. 29 (the redif "şud"), https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/Eklenti/59394,sahi-divanipdf.pdf.

Online sources