Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilün

Pâdişâh-ı mülk-i ‘ışkam diyü lâf itsem n’ola
Kim belâ küncinde derdün gibi gencüm var benüm

In English

1. What if I boast that I am the sultan of the realm of love; for in the corner of affliction I have a treasure like the pain of you.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

A müfred is a poem of a single couplet; its lines need not rhyme. This couplet is written in the "fâ'ilâtün fâ'ilâtün fâ'ilâtün fâ'ilün" pattern and is the first of the müfreds in the edition. Its lines do not rhyme with each other: the first ends with "n'ola", the second with "var benüm". According to Kılıç's count there are nineteen Turkish müfreds in the divan, six of them written in this pattern. Describing the order of the manuscript, Kılıç says that the müfreds come after the Turkish ghazals and the Turkish nazm. "Benüm" (my, of mine) at the end of the second line is a word used as the redif of ten ghazals in the divan; whether the couplet is a fragment left over from a ghazal with the redif "benüm" is not known. In the edition there is no folio mark beside this couplet.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The couplet rests on the motif of divan poetry of "the treasure in the ruin". According to old belief, treasures are hidden in ruined places, in corners out of sight. The poet too says that he has found a treasure in "belâ küncü", the corner of affliction; this treasure is the pain the beloved gives. To count the pain of love a treasure raises the lover from a poor beggar to the sultan of the realm of love. Between the words "genc" (treasure) and "künc" (corner) there is a likeness of sound differing only in the first consonant, and this is a play on sound (cinas). The same thought is found in Turkish Ghazal 16 of the divan: in the last couplet of that ghazal it is said "Bu Şâhî-derdmende derd-i 'ışkun / Yeter ey dil-ber-i nâ-mihr-bân genc", that is, the pain of love is treasure enough for the afflicted Şâhî. This connection is our observation.

The phrase "Pâdişâh-ı mülk-i 'ışk" (sultan of the realm of love) in the first line is a well-known title with which the lover praises himself in divan poetry. In the mouth of a prince this phrase draws particular attention: Bayezid's hope of becoming the sultan of his own realm was never fulfilled, and the poet proclaims himself sultan only of the realm of love. The word "lâf itmek" (to boast) also shows that this claim carries an air of jest. This reading is ours, and when the couplet was written is not known.

Bibliography

  • Filiz Kılıç (ed.), Şâhî Dîvânı (Şehzâde Bâyezîd), Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Kütüphaneler ve Yayımlar Genel Müdürlüğü, 2018, e-book p. 147, müfred (single couplet) no. 1 (Millet Library, Ali Emîrî Efendi, Manzum Eserler 225); p. 26 (19 Turkish müfreds), p. 27 (the order of the manuscript), p. 29 (ghazals with the redif "benüm"; survey of metres), https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/Eklenti/59394,sahi-divanipdf.pdf.

Online sources