Özet:

The poem “Bülbül” [The Nightingale] was written in a dark section of our recent history, upon the occupation of Bursa by the Greeks in July of 1920. In the seventh book of Safahat named Gölgeler [Shadows]; “Bülbül” was written by Mehmed Âkif Ersoy, who also authored the national anthem, while he was in Taceddin Lodge, Ankara as the deputy of Burdur. It was later published in the Sebilürreşad journal dated May 7, 1921. While the occupation of a part of the country was figured and narrated as the main idea, the sadness and reaction of the poet of this catastrophic situation was symbolically reflected through the metaphor of the ‘nightingale’ in the poem, which has a significant place in Turkish poetry. The poem can be read in two parts. In the first part of the poem, where artistic and aesthetic concerns come to the fore, Âkif describes his pessimistic mood around the nightingale image, which as an element of nature, with various means of expression. In the second part, the cruelty done by the enemy forces in Bursa were explained with a clearer articulation. As in his other works, the framework of the milieu of values of Âkif, who deals with two different worlds with different beliefs and cultures on the axis of "East-West", is determined by the religious and national references shaped by Islam. In “Bülbül”, it is observed that the values and characteristics of the Turkish nation are exalted, while the negative attitudes and behaviors of the invading Western powers take on demeaning expressions, and also in this context, it is clear that Mehmet Âkif tried to seek solace by considering the situation of the Turkish-Islamic nation in the face of the West within the framework of the 'values' system.