Abdülhak Şinasi Hisar`ın söyleminde gelenek
Author(s)
Advisor
Oğuzertem, SühaDate
2002Publisher
Bilkent University
Language
English
Type
ThesisItem Usage Stats
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Abstract
Abdülhak Şinasi Hisar was one of the rare writers of Republican period
who kept alive the old sense of literature and traditional esthetics in his
literary works. He become recognized in the 1930s which was a period of
rapid development for modern Turkish literature. Hisar, whose works
show characteristics of resistance towards modernity, was known as a
“writer” in books on the history of Turkish literature. However, the kind of
resistance that he displays in his writings is in harmony with his
traditional sense of literature and art, which was not an object of critical
interest in his time. These writings, which can be closely identified with
literary criticism, are full of subjective and poetic expressions. Although
these prevent him from being called a “critic” in the modern sense of the
word, they give important information about his system of values and his
view of literature. Hisar does not pay attention to differences among
literary genres and praises all kinds of writing with a refined sense of
taste, defining them as works of literature. Because Hisar had not
accepted the novelties of modernism in Turkish literature, his esthetics
remained within the frames of tradition. When we analyze his literary
works, we can see that Hisar’s critical views are in accordance with the
attitude he expresses in his literary works. The most important elements
that capture our attention at first in his works are his elaborate style and
ambiguity of literary genre. These characteristics of Hisar’s literary works
do not fit the parameters of modern literature and generate negative
evaluations of contemporary Turkish critics who adopt the modern
perspective. In spite of this, it cannot be said that his works are
disordered, “chaotic”, and without literary value. These elements of his
work are based on “pre-modern” values and originate from his sense of
literature, which, derives from traditional oral culture that Hisar had
cultivated since his childhood. That is why the characteristics of
discourse and style that Hisar displays in his literary works during the
period of modernization in Turkish literature must be defined within the
frames of tradition. Hisar has a unique place in Turkish literature as an
authentic writer who conveys the refined taste of Turkish civilization and
literary tradition in his works.