Original Persian Text

Istanbul 1306 printing, couplet 4 of ghazal 19; the full ghazal is not given in the source.

Ḫusrev-i ḫūbān kerem kerdî ki ḫūnem rîḫtî
Sāḫtî ez-gerd ḫālî āsitān-ı ḫ’îş-rā

In English

4. O king of the fair, you showed me generosity in shedding my blood; thus you also cleared your own threshold of dust.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The couplet is the fourth couplet of ghazal 19 in the Istanbul 1306 printing. Seda Aydın quotes this couplet in her article showing how Selîmî combines the identity of the sultan with that of the lover in his Persian ghazals, under the royal virtue of generosity. According to Aydın, the word "dād" (justice) occurs only once in the ghazals of this printing, while "kerem" and "kerem-ālūd" (generosity, tinged with generosity) occur four times. The redif (refrain word) is the suffix "-rā" and the rhyme is formed with the word "ḫ’îş" (own). Selîmî's life, his Persian divan and the debate over his Turkish poems are discussed in detail in Yavuz Sultan Selim (Selîmî) and his poems.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The couplet is an example of fanciful aetiology (hüsn-i ta'lil). The beloved's killing of the lover is presented as a favour rather than as cruelty, and a poetic reason is found for it. The lover is like the dust lying at the beloved's door; when his blood is shed that dust is washed away and the threshold is cleansed. Killing thus becomes a kindness both to the lover and to the beloved. The title given to the beloved, "Ḫusrev-i ḫūbān" (king of the fair), is striking. Aydın counts three occurrences of the word "ḫusrev" in the ghazals of this printing and shows that royal titles are frequent in Selîmî's poetry. Here the poet, himself a king, gives the royal title to the beloved and places himself as a servant under the beloved's sword. The contrast between "kerem" (generosity) and "ḫūn" (blood) carries the irony of the couplet.

Bibliography

Online sources