Ottoman Poetry from the 15th to the 19th Century

Service Description

This 10-week course offers an intensive introduction to the history, forms, and literary cultures of Ottoman poetry from the fifteenth through the nineteenth century. Through close readings of major poets and poetic works, the course traces the emergence, consolidation, and transformation of the Ottoman poetic tradition. It situates Ottoman Turkish poetry within the multilingual literary world of the Ottoman Empire and the broader Persian and Islamic traditions while examining the distinctive literary conventions and forms that developed within Ottoman cultural settings. Particular attention will be given to the relationship between Ottoman Turkish poetry and Persian and Arabic literary models; the development of poetic forms such as the ghazal, qasida, and masnavi; and the changing meanings of love, beauty, mysticism, satire, urban life, and poetic authorship.The course will also explore the social worlds in which poetry was produced and circulated. Alongside courtly patronage, students will examine literary gatherings, Sufi networks, urban communities, poetic biographies (tezkires), manuscript culture, and the participation of women and non-courtly poets in Ottoman literary life. Weekly Topics Week 1 — Şeyhî and Ahmed Paşa: Persianate Models and the Formation of an Ottoman Poetic Tradition Week 2 — Necâtî Bey: The Ghazal, Vernacular Expression, and the Ottoman Poetic Idiom Week 3 — Latîfî and Âşık Çelebi: Tezkire, Literary Biography, and the Social World of Ottoman Poetry Week 4 — Bâkî and the Age of Süleyman: Courtly Patronage, Literary Networks, and the Classical Ottoman Aesthetic Week 5 — Fuzûlî: Love, Mysticism, and the Poetics of Suffering Week 6 — Nef‘î: Qasida, Satire, and Poetic Authority in the Seventeenth Century Week 7 — Nâ’ilî and Nâbî: Sebk-i Hindî, Hikemî Poetry, and New Poetic Styles Week 8 — Nedîm and the Eighteenth Century: Istanbul, Urbanity, Pleasure, and New Poetic Sensibilities Week 9 — Şeyh Gâlib: Mysticism, the Masnavi, and the Reinvention of the Classical Tradition Week 10 — Enderunlu Vâsıf, Leskofçalı Gâlib, and the Nineteenth Century: Continuity, Transformation, and the Classical Tradition in an Age of Literary Change