Abstract:

Death is one of the most popular topics of poets in classical Turkish poetry. The histories on death, the verse epitaphs, and especially the elegies are the poems in which the subject of death is handled separately in classical Turkish literature. Apart from these, it is seen that the theme of death is frequently handled in other poems in the dīvāns. ʿĀşıq Çelebi (d. 979/1572), one of the 16th century poets and authors who is known for his tezkire called Meşāʾirü’ş-şuʿarā, is one of the personalities who included the death theme in his poems. In ʿĀşıq Çelebi’s Dīvān, apart from the usage and associations in the dimension of couplets and words, the last part of the 14th eulogy and the 52nd ghazal are devoted to the idea of death independently. The poet’s feelings, thoughts and dreams about death manifest themselves within the framework of the classical Turkish poetry tradition and generally in the triangle of lover, beloved and opponent. The uses related to death sometimes shed light on the life and psychology of the poet individually; sometimes it contains important information in the context of social life, culture and values by including various customs, traditions, beliefs and practices in its social aspect. It is clear that the religion of Islam and mysticism are influential in the poet’s view of death. However, the influence of old Turkish customs and traditions and superstitions is seen in some customs and traditions, especially in the forms of mourning. In any case, in these examples it is possible to see the attitude of ʿĀşıq Çelebi as an individual, both the poet who is a representative of tradition, and the Ottoman society’s attitude towards death and perhaps its philosophy, in the form of intertwined layers of meaning. In this article, the idea of death and the customs and traditions related to death in the Dīvān of ʿĀşıq Çelebi will be determined and examined. The aim of the research is to reveal the reflections of death in the Dīvān of ʿĀşıq Çelebi and to examine the customs and traditions related to death in the sample of the Dīvān. For this purpose, the couplets in the Dīvān that deal with the death theme will be determined and the resulting material will be analyzed with the method of content analysis. The study is also expected to contribute to researches in the context of classical Turkish literature and social life.

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