Sakinames, recounting bazms, are perhaps the best example of realistic classical Ottoman poetry. Research on sakinames, however, is mosty limited to the development and classification of the genre or to an analysis of sakinames by a single poet. A comparative analysis of sakinames produced in different centuries which encapsulate realist narrations of the era, thus shedding light on contemporary life, will enable an examination of variable and unvariable aspects of the context and the genre. Drawing from this perspective, this research embarks on a comparative analysis of Revânî’s İşretnâme from the 16th century, Atâyî’s ‘Âlemnümâ’ from the 17th century and finally Aynî’s Sâkînâme from the 19th century. The aim is to reveal the realism in sakinames by comparing the masnavis with their contemporaries. Focusing on the narrations of the bazms, the author will elucidate how the intellectual environment was preserved and even sustained throughout centuries. When defining the genre, sakiname, it is posited that the sakiname originated either from Islamic mysticism or worldly concerns. Research drawing on this classification neglects their worldly characteristics and approaches sakinames from purely a Sufistic perspective. More often than not, information on the poet’s life is considered as supporting evidence for a sufistic perspective of the masnavi. While it is necessary to examine sufistic associations in the sakinames, the realist narrations of the bazm should also be considered. This study draws on the Halil İnalcık’s assertion that religion and sufism in upper class culture coexist with the old Persian tradition. As can be observed in Revânî’s and Atâyî’s masnavis, the intensity of sufistic associations in bazm imageries in sakinames increase when fundamentalism dominates social life. Aynî’s Sâkînâme holds a special place in this study. Aynî organizes his work in such a way that the sufistic and worldly aspects of his narration are separated. The first chapter of Sâkînâme, examines the intellectual work while the second studies the environment where they were created.