Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: fe‘ilātün mefā‘ilün fe‘ilün

Vaṣluñı virme cāna begcügezüm
Ṣatma cānı cihāna begcügezüm
Gerek öldür beni gerek dirgür
Ḳul senüñdür baña ne begcügezüm
Der-miyāndur dü ‘ālemüñ cānı
Seni bir kez ḳocana begcügezüm
Bāg-ı ḥüsnüñde leblerüñ cāmın
İçelüm ‘āşıḳāne begcügezüm
Ḳuluñuz devletüñde ḫoş geçelüm
Böyle ḳalmaz zamāne begcügezüm
Geyüp al itme cānum almaġa āl
Sen sen ol girme ḳana begcügezüm
Ca‘ferüñ ḳaṣdı vaṣf-ı ḥüsnüñdür
Şi‘r arada behāne begcügezüm

In English

1. Do not give your union to the soul, my little lord; do not sell the soul for the world, my little lord.

2. Kill me or bring me to life; the slave is yours, what is it to me, my little lord.

3. In the embrace of whoever once embraces you is the soul of both worlds, my little lord.

4. In the garden of your beauty let us drink the cup of your lips like lovers, my little lord.

5. Let us your slaves live pleasantly in your reign; times do not stay like this, my little lord.

6. Do not dress in red and play tricks to take my soul; be yourself, do not take blood upon you, my little lord.

7. Ca'fer's aim is to describe your beauty; the poem is only a pretext, my little lord.

Literary and Historical Commentary

My Little Lord

With its short metre (Fe‘ilātün Mefā‘ilün Fe‘ilün) and its refrain built on an affectionate diminutive, the ghazal is one of the lightest poems in the divan and one of the closest to song. The refrain is "begcügezüm", "my little lord": the Turkish diminutive "-cügez" and the possessive suffix are added to the word "beg" (lord). The expression carries the tone of an everyday address of affection rather than the language of court and chancery. Erünsal notes that some of Câfer Çelebi's poems were composed to be set to music, or at least sung in the manner of songs; with its short lines and repeated address this ghazal is readily open to such a reading.

The rhyme turns on the sound "-āne": cāna, cihāna, ḳocana, ‘āşıḳāne, zamāne, ḳana, behāne. The second couplet carries the plainest sentences: "Gerek öldür beni gerek dirgür / Ḳul senüñdür baña ne". The lover leaves his fate entirely to the beloved; the slave is hers, and what she does with him is her affair.

Dressing in Red, Playing Tricks

The sixth couplet sets up a threefold play on the word "al". "Al geymek" is to dress in red; "āl itmek" is to play a trick; and "almak" is to take the soul. The beloved should not dress in red and play tricks to take the soul, but return to herself: "be yourself". "Ḳana girmek", to enter someone's blood, is to take on the guilt of his death. The Hâlet Efendi and Ayasofya copies give the first line of this couplet in an altogether different form: "Nāz u şīveyle ḫalḳı ṭap öldür".

The fifth couplet is a counsel about time: "böyle ḳalmaz zamāne", times do not stay like this; one should live pleasantly in the beloved's reign. "Der-miyān" in the third couplet means both "in the middle" and "at the waist": in the embrace of whoever once holds the beloved by the waist is the soul of both worlds. The pen-name couplet counts the poem a pretext: Ca'fer's real aim is to describe the beloved's beauty. Nazmî did not take this song-like ghazal into his collection.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • İsmail E. Erünsal (ed.), Tâcî-zâde Ca‘fer Çelebi Dîvânı, Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Yay., 2018 (e-book), pp. 421-422, ghazal no. 129. https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/TR-211662/taci-zade-cafer-celebi-divani.html
  • İsmail E. Erünsal, "Ca‘fer Çelebi'nin Edebî Kişiliği", introduction to Tâcî-zâde Ca‘fer Çelebi Dîvânı, Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Yay., 2018 (e-book), p. 67 (poems sung in the manner of songs). ekitap.ktb.gov.tr

Academic studies

  • İsmail E. Erünsal, The Life and Works of Tâcî-zâde Ca‘fer Çelebi, with a Critical Edition of His Dîvân, PhD thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1977, vol. 2, ghazal no. 129 (variants). https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/17182

Online sources